The Man in the Fog
by MarilagML
Summary: Bella is a commoner who becomes Prince Edward’s lover. She loses him when she is forcefully thrown into another dimension. Finally, she finds him again only to lose him in the fog. OOC. Canon pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** I would like to thank Project Team Beta for doing the beta-work. I would also like to thank Missie Jessie for her feedbacks. I'm sure I drove you crazy throughout the beta process. I do not own Twilight

The Beginning

Bella POV:

I was holding Edward's hand as we walked in the forest five miles away from his home. I could not help but smile as I looked at this god of a man smiling at me. I lost my composure as I stared into those emerald green eyes like they were the brightest things in the world.

"Do you know where we are?" he asked me.

"If I remember correctly, this is where you saved me from the bear attack. The first time we met."

"Yes, right about there." Edward pointed to the site where he had saved me from an eight-foot-tall bear standing in front of me as I hopelessly cowered, waiting for my life to end.

Marveling at how unchanged it looked, I led him over to the site. The falls still reflected the rainbow-like pattern just like the day of my bear attack. The sun still shone on the clear opening around it. The grass was as verdant as the last time we had been here. The only difference was the flowers, which were now in full bloom.

We stayed there for a while to enjoy the scenery before heading to our final destination. We were heading to Edward's castle to celebrate my birthday. Alice had insisted on throwing a party for me. In the beginning, I was against it for two reasons: I hated being the center of attention, and as a commoner, I never really understood the concept of parties. For me, parties were for people with a lot of time on their hands. However, Alice could be very persuasive. She had kept on insisting until I finally relented. Before I knew it, I was having a party, and all I had to do was show up.

Arriving at the end of the woods, the castle – also known as the Masen Estate – could be seen in the distance. It would take us another thirty minutes to reach it, but we could see the castle in all of its glory.

The six-story castle was made of marble. Although it did not have a roof, the walls on the highest level of the castle had symmetrical grooves, which resembled those on the rook chess piece. On every corner of the castle was a watchtower, the marble cylinders standing three stories higher than the main castle with similar grooves cut into each. A wall made of compacted cement surrounded the entire castle one-third of a mile away. Ten-foot tall double doors sealed the wall's only opening at the front of the castle.

When we made it to the opening, Edward let go of my hand so that he could command the guards to open the doors. Once they were open, he reached out his hand to assist me.

"Bella, are you ready to go inside?"

"To be honest, no. I am scared of what's inside."

"There is no reason to be scared." Edward chuckled as he tried to soothe me. "Come on. You are the only person I know who does not like parties."

"I am a commoner and I don't like parties. What's the point anyway?"

"You, my dear, are the only lover of the prince—heir to the throne—and you deserve to party. Now be a big girl and let's go inside," Edward playfully.

"Before we go, I want to be honest with you about something. I am scared of what Alice has prepared for me."

Edward took my hand, nodding with understanding. Knowing Alice, she would have enjoyed the party preparation so much that my simple birthday would look like a new king had been crowned.

"Stop where you are!" Edward's pint-sized sister called out.

Looking at Edward, I shook my head and whispered, "Let the horror begin." Of course, he laughed at my statement as Alice approached.

Alice came out of the castle door bouncing up and down until she reached us. Then, she grabbed my hand and dragged me away from my love. Edward let out a growl; he hated to be separated from me even for a short time. She looked her favorite brother in the face and stuck out her tongue.

"Oh, Edward, stop being a baby. You'll thank me later."

Alice dragged me inside the castle and into her room. I finally realized that my nightmare of being pricked, plucked and prodded was coming to life. Once we reached her room, she started by subjecting me to what I referred to as "spa horror"—soaking myself in mud, then going to the bathtub where her servants scrubbed every part of me with special-flavored scrubs, and finally macerating my skin in oil. Once that phase of the nightmare was over, she made me sit in a torture chair so that she could dry my hair and pull it into different places before poking paint all over my face. Surprisingly, Rosalie came in to help with the torture.

"Do you hate me, Rosalie? You know how much I hate 'Bella doll time,' right?" I shook my head at the idea of my two best friends having a lot of fun torturing me. Why were they doing this to me?

"No, silly. I figured that since it is a special occasion, I would help Alice with this one. You know that I love you. Trust me. You'll thank me with this one later."

"What's more 'special' than my birthday?" Seriously, they were making a lot of commotion on an insignificant event.

Both Rosalie and Alice became silent. I became suspicious since it was unusual considering that these two always had an opinion regarding everything.

"Well… we finally have a way to show you our sisterly affections," Rosalie said with a smile.

"What are you hiding from me?" I asked, cutting to the chase.

"Nothing," Alice answered, smiling. "You know that it will only be a matter of hours until you find out, right? The sooner we finish the sooner you will be with Edward. Now, please stop moving and let us do our work."

I sat on the chair while Rosalie pulled my hair and Alice assaulted my face. When they had finished, they helped me finish getting ready. They assisted me in securing the hyacinth blue toga that they bought for me, just for this occasion. It felt so comfortable that I could dance in it the whole night. Then, they made me wear these beautiful sandals. They had a lining that made them friendly to my feet. When they had finished, they brought me in front of a mirror. I was amazed at my transformation—the ugly duckling finally turned into a beautiful swan.

"Thank you, Alice! Thank you, Rose!"

"I told you it's worth the torture. Now, wait here until we are finished dressing. We just want to teach Edward to have more patience. He has been pacing ever since you got here," Rose said happily.

Alice chipped in, "Well, as I told you, I am your personal 'fairy godmother'. Really, Bella, you should know by now to trust my fashion sense. I agree with Rose. Make Edward wait for a while. Wait for us to finish dressing up before you make your grand entrance."

It only took an hour for Alice and Rose to get ready. They had done their hair while I was having my "spa nightmare," so all they had to do was to paint their faces. They put on their togas, Alice in a maroon fabric and Rose in a dark green one. Both of them looked like goddesses who came down to earth.

"Are you ready, Bella?" Alice asked. I answered her with a nod.

"It is best for you to go downstairs last. You are the guest of honor of this party after all," Rose suggested.

I nodded in agreement with both of them and let them have their fun.

Finally, it was time for us to head downstairs.

Rose descended the three flights of stairs first, walking with so much grace that she looked like she was floating. She paused when she reached the last landing and looked at Emmett, who was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for her. Alice went down in similar fashion and took Jasper's arm in her hand as she reached the last step. Finally, it was my turn to go down the stairs. Rose announced my descent.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we now present to you, Bella."

Because of my clumsiness, I held onto the railing tightly and watched my footing to make sure that I did not trip on my gown. I also paused when I reached the last flight of stairs. I had only reached the fifth step when I lost my footing and fell down. I was very surprised that I did not feel the impact.

"Must you always need saving?" Edward asked. He held onto my waist, making sure that I did not fall down the stairs.

"Only with you," I flirted, smiling.

Jasper cleared his throat to let us know that everybody was waiting. Taking Edward's arm, I let him lead me down the stairs. When we reached the bottom level, everybody met us to give me a hug.

"Bella, you look wonderful. Welcome home," King Edward exclaimed before giving me a hug.

"Oh, Bella! I am so glad you let us celebrate your birthday with you," Queen Elizabeth added.

Upon their statement, tears formed in my eyes. I tended to get emotional whenever the King and the Queen of Olympus showed me their affection. I hugged them both, crying on their shoulders. Edward gave me a handkerchief to wipe away my tears.

"Stop crying. Rose and I spent hours on your make-up, and you are ruining it within seconds."

I let out a chuckle. Leave it to Alice to make me laugh whenever I feel like crying.

"Bella, only you can trip over your own two feet just trying to go down the stairs. I bet Edward will carry you down the stairs from now on," Emmett joked. "Well, at least we know who will truly succeed Mother and Father. And it will not be Edward… even though he is supposed to be the first in the line of successors."

Everybody laughed.

"What is wrong with Bella being the queen? I personally like the idea." Edward smiled as he defended me.

"Oh, man! You are so love-struck," Jasper said.

Edward held my right hand while Alice held my left, both of them bringing me into the ballroom, the part of the castle where they had their parties. I was right; Alice had gone overboard. The enchanted ceiling looked invisible as it showed a clear night full of stars. There were candles lining the walkway, as well as on the entire wall, to light up the room. Curled white silk ribbons were hanging at the top of the wall around the room, and the open windows showed bodies of water, teeming with floating candles. In the middle of the room, the dining table had two layers of tablecloths – a pink one atop a white one. It cradled my five-tier birthday cake, a Bella-look-alike figurine at the summit. Alice definitely had too much fun planning my birthday.

"Thank goodness there are no banners," I sighed in relief.

"Think again," Edward said with a mischievous smile.

They sang the traditional birthday song for me. At the end of their song, I made my wish and blew out the candles. Once that birthday ritual was over, fireworks shot across the star-decorated ceiling. Afterwards, the birthday banners that I had been dreading magically appeared on the wall.

"Bella, would you like to dance?" Edward offered as soft music filled the air.

I nodded and took his hand as he led me to the center of the room. I placed my left hand on his shoulder and he put his right hand on my waist. He clasped our free hands together and brought me close to him. I found myself looking into his deep green eyes. Once he started twirling me around, nothing else mattered; it was just my prince and me. In that moment, I wanted to kiss him and get lost in his arms.

"Bella, you look like a goddess tonight."

"Thanks." My cheeks turned red at his compliment.

"You know, I always find you so beautiful. I want to keep you forever—day in and day out." We both smiled at his idea.

"Likewise. I always find myself intoxicated with your presence."

He looked at me with his eyes full of love, hope, fear, and happiness.

"You know, you dazzle me when you stare at me like that." I tried to ease the nervousness I felt.

"And I hope to dazzle you forever."

We stopped dancing. He let go of my waist and held both of my hands together.

"Bella, from the moment I saw you, you changed my life. Before I met you, I never believed in love. Then, you came into my life, turning it upside-down. Nothing else matters anymore. I would follow you to the ends of the earth for all eternity just to be with you." Edward knelt on one knee. "Bella, will you marry me?"

I nodded and cried with tears of happiness as Edward offered me the ring. The ring was beautiful. It had an egg-shaped sapphire in the middle with tiny diamonds around it. While the gemstones were beautiful, they were not important to me. It was only a symbol. It meant that he was giving his heart to me and I gave mine in return. It was a symbol of our eternity together.

Once Edward put the ring on my finger, I hugged him and kissed him passionately on the lips. His entire family started to come up to congratulate us, but the pixie made it first.

"Congratulations! I knew it would be beautiful! We were all helping out with his proposal, you know."

"So, your entire family knew about this?" I asked.

"Yes," Edward answered. "They all wanted to help out. Didn't you notice that when Rose helped you get ready?"

"Hey, Alice! Stop hogging our new sister," Emmett exclaimed.

Alice gave us a quick hug. Then, Edward and I returned to the rest of the family to receive more hugs and congratulations. I hugged Emmett first, followed by Rosalie, and then Jasper. I finally embraced both the King and the Queen at the same time.

Our celebration was cut short when we saw an unexpected guest. Everyone became quiet as Tanya, the high priestess, appeared out of thin air. If Edward had followed the tradition—the one that forced the future king of Olympus to marry a powerful high priestess—she would have been his betrothed instead. It was no secret to everyone that she wanted him. Her face did not mask the anger and jealousy she felt toward me. However, I was surprised when she came up to me and pulled me away from the Masens.

"I want to congratulate you on your engagement." She embraced me.

"Thank you, I guess."

"However, there is something I want to tell you," Tanya said as her tone turned menacing. Her face was full of hatred as she looked at me. "You will not marry Edward."

With one swift movement, she pushed me back. I realized that Tanya has pushed me into another world. It was similar to Olympus but different. I had in the castle at twilight but when she pushed me, I found myself standing in the middle of a forest at noontime.

Like a blind man without his cane, I felt the area surrounding me as I tried to find the portal. I wanted to go back to Olympus to be with Edward again but I realized that there was no way to do so. Pretty soon, I found myself crying. I was surprised to find a pair of arms surrounding me in a hug.

"Don't cry, Bella. You have us," a woman's voice said as she hugged me.

"Rosalie, what are you doing here?"

"It is not only me, sweetie. Look around you."

I turned around to find Alice, Jasper and Emmett behind us. I searched for the face that comforted me the most but felt disappointed when I noticed that he was not here. I thought that he would be the first one to follow me.

"Where's Edward?" I asked.

"He tried to follow you but Tanya used her magic to hold him back," Alice sadly answered. "We realized that we were the only ones who could do anything. Rose and Jasper went first and then Emmett. I reached the portal last. However, I am afraid that the portal is closed. I entered as it was closing. I barely fit through."

With this new knowledge, I found myself crying in Rosalie's arms. She tried to console me as I cried at the thought of losing the love of my life. Edward and I could not be in the same world.  
No one would ever match the feelings that I had for Edward. He had a piece of my soul. I would wander this world alone until I found him again.

The people in this world were similar to ours; they looked like us and they lived like us. I worked for a rich man as a farmer. He grew quite fond of me and he offered his hand for marriage. I refused him knowing that deep in my heart, it would always belong to Edward.

Edward's siblings learned how to work for a living—an amazing feat considering that they lived with servants all their lives. Rosalie fixed wheels for chariots while Emmett became a toymaker. Alice worked as a seamstress and Jasper became a soldier. They became so good at their occupations that they were well-known throughout the land. Kings from other kingdoms sought their expertise. Eventually, they got me out of the farm that I worked for and made me live with them.

I made it my mission to find a sorceress, seer or priestess that would bring us back home. I spent my entire life searching without having desirable result.

Edward POV:

It had been a thousand years since that day. I still remembered the event like it happened yesterday.

_I saw Tanya open a bright bluish-white portal behind Bella, big enough to fit three people. I tried to follow Bella once she was pushed into the portal, only to be held back by an unknown force._

_"You are not going anywhere!" Tanya shrieked. "You belong to me!"_

_I saw Rosalie and Jasper enter the portal. After them Emmett followed, and just before it closed Alice dived in. I was so distraught that I did not realize I was free until I beheaded Tanya._

_ "We need you to get out of the castle for a while until we sort this out," the King said. "I would have executed the priestess myself and I got my work cut out for me. However, you murdered the priestess and it is punishable by death. I love you, my son and I would not want to execute you myself."_

_I hugged my father and packed up my belongings. My father gave me a hefty sum of money and I left to travel alone. I searched lands far and wide to find a seer or a priestess that would bring me back to my true love. Five months later, I found a seer that had the power to send me to Bella._

_"I am afraid that your beloved is stuck in another dimension," she said. "I cannot bring her back."_

_"Is there a way for me to go to her?"_

_"Yes, but I do believe it has a high price," she said._

_I was about to give her money when she held her hand to stop me. She said, "It is not a price that money can pay. Rather, it is something that you have to pay with your soul. You see, that dimension only goes one way. You would need other sorcerers to open the portal to get back._

_"In addition, there is a thick fog separating that world from ours. I cannot create a portal like the late high priestess of Denali because she was one of a kind. Tanya was the most powerful being of all time. However, I could bend the rules a little to make you go there._

_"You will face an existence like no other. I will have to turn your body into a mist. _That is the only way that you can get to her world_," she explained._

_"What kind of existence are you talking about?" _

_"You will exist but you will be neither dead nor alive. You will live forever, always being part of the invisible fog that surrounds the world. You will never go hungry or thirsty—you will no longer need anything to survive—but you will still have the ability to feel and to think. You will live for eternity while everybody in that world dies._

_"Of course, there is no guarantee of bringing Bella back. Since your love is now part of that world, she will grow old and _die with the rest_ of them. She will certainly be reborn, she may not remember you. Are you sure it is worth taking this huge risk just to be with her?" the seer finally asked._

_"Yes, I would do anything for her. I will follow her for all eternity. Please, send me to her." Knowing that life was not worth living without Bella, I would gladly give my life just to see her again. I would gladly turn myself into a fog just to be in the same world she was in._

_The seer answered my prayers by sending me to the dimension where Bella was located_.

I had been living in my half-alive state for a thousand years. I realized that I could only be visible as long as the fog was visible. I decided to wait for her at this beautiful meadow. It reminded me of the place where I first met her—the landscape surrounding the waterfall. I knew that there was a huge possibility that she might not show up but I would still wait for her for all eternity. She had been my only love. I would wait for as long as it took to be with her again.

**End Notes:** This is my nth revision for the Prologue. Chapter 1 is done but it's still being beta'd. R&R please.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: SM owns the wonderful saga known as Twilight. I am just borrowing her characters.

**A/N:** This is set at modern day. Bella and the Cullens were reborn so they did not know Edward at all. They never met him at this lifetime.

Chapter 1: A Day in the Life of Bella Swan

Bella POV:

Driving my truck to school, I smiled as I enjoyed the final moments of peace where I could just be Bella. Its deliberate slowness allowed me time for myself as I held on to the last vestiges of my identity.

I approached Forks High School—the center of my universe. It was a small school, its edifice already crumbling down as a sign of its age and neglect. Since the school year would start today, I went early so that I had a few more minutes before the entire student body bombarded my peace and solitude. I looked in the mirror and put on the final touch-ups before presenting myself in the world.

"Teeth… Check... Make-up… Check—not too cakey, just smooth enough to blend in. Blouse…. No wrinkles, check," I said to myself as I checked my appearance for the last time.

Once people began to trickle in, I exited my vehicle and flashed my patented winning smile to anyone heading my way as I went over to my two best girl friends. They were sitting and waiting for me in Alice's car. I grimaced as I remembered not going with them for the cruise they went to two weeks ago. I opened the door and slid in the passenger's seat.

"Bella!" Alice hugged. "It was nice to see you!"

"Nice to see you too," I said chuckling. "Come on. We only haven't seen each other for two weeks."

"We would have seen each other for last week if you joined us with our trip," Rose pointed out.

"Well, I got a little busy," I said trying to come up with a plausible excuse.

"What were you busy for? Scrubbing the floors of Newton's Outfitters?" Alice asked.

"Among other things," I said. "I was having a blast at my summer job. I think that they would have to keep me by the time that I was done with them."

"Don't kid yourself, Bella," Rose chastised. "We know how much you 'love' the outdoors."

"Even if you decided to take the summer job, you should have ended it sooner. Rose and I really had a great time," Alice said. She showed me a ton of pictures where both she and Rose were wearing a bikini.

"These are souvenirs," Rose said as she handed some necklaces made of sea shells. "We made it ourselves. We were supposed to buy you memorabilia but decided against it knowing that you hated it when people spend money on you. You should've come with us. We offered to pay for your trip."

"No, it's okay. I'm fine," I said. "Like I said, I don't want to be a burden."

Rosalie chuckled. "You're not a burden to us, Bella. We are happy to spend money on you… especially if you were allergic on spending."

"Don't remind me," I said and then pointed to Alice, "this girl right here spends enough money for my wardrobe on the reasoning that I hated clothes."

"But you do hated clothes," Alice said with a big smile on her face. "As I said, I wanted to be a fashion designer so by allowing me to spend clothes on you, you are investing on my future."

I just shook my head at her reasoning. Should she be spending her money buying me new clothes when she could design her own and build them from scratch? I do not think so. I let her get away with it, since she would continue to fill my wardrobe without my knowledge; it was futile to ask her to stop.

"Bella, What are you doing this Friday?" Alice asked.

"I have to cook dinner. My parents are coming home late," I answered.

"I know you're gonna say that." Alice shook her head. "That is why I asked your parents first before you. You are going straight to our house for a sleepover Friday after school."

"Well, let me pack my things first," I said.

"Nonsense! I went over to your house while you were out yesterday. I asked your parents and actually packed your bags for you. All you have to do is to show up," Alice explained.

I shook my head in disbelief. It was unlike my friends to force me into sleepover.

"Alice maybe taking extreme actions but I agree in her reasoning," Rose asked. "Seriously, you should have fun and we're not taking no for an answer. We would not want you to miss out on our girl time especially since you ditched us in the last one."

Knowing my defeat, I agreed and not made a big deal about it. I realized that I would enjoy myself anyway.

"Girls, I'm touched!" I said, mocking them as I wiped away my imaginary tears.

"Bella, quit being a drama queen," Rosalie said. She looked at me with concern before reasoning, "You should know by now why we would take extreme measures just to keep you relaxed."

I zoned out for a moment and let my mind wander at what would happen on Friday. There would definitely be movie-watching and story-telling, two of my favorite sleepover activities. However, I dreaded the make-over activity in the agenda since I would be a life-size Barbie of Alice and Rose. Those two seemed to enjoy my pain of being their personal make-up and hair product tester.

When we talked about their cruise, I felt envy seeping in my soul as Alice and Rose described the pristine waters of South America. I made up my mind not to let it get to me since I was the one that gave up the trip on my own.

"So, what had you been doing besides fixing the shelves at Newton's Outfitters?" Rose asked.

"Cleaning and keeping everything in order in the house," I said.

"If that's the case, we should've made you into our maid," Alice scoffed. "At least you could've paid your way through the cruise without you feeling the guilt of being a 'freeloader'."

I grimaced at the thought because I honestly did not think of that. Now I missed the cruise that could have been one of the best experiences in my life. We headed toward the quad area where the rest of the student population had gathered for their schedules. Once we had ours, we compared it with one another.

"So, what's your next class?" I asked.

"Spanish," Alice said.

"Me, too," Rosalie agreed.

"What's yours, Bella?" Alice asked.

"English… with Lightfire," I said.

Both of them cringed at the thought; they knew how much I detested Lightfire and her "teaching" methods.

"You might have Emmett with you," Rose said. "Cheer up, it's not that bad."

"Not that bad? Who teaches English by saying that Einstein was just a fictional character?"

"Do your best and don't let it get to you," Alice encouraged. "If you have Emmett, think of all the things you could do to keep yourself from getting bored."

"Thanks," I said. "So, are you guys in the same class?"

Both Alice and Rose looked at their schedule and nodded their heads.

"Good bye then." I waved goodbye to my girls before separating from them.

Alice and Rosalie headed to Building A for Spanish while I went to Building B for English. I chose my favorite spot at the back of the class—the seat next to Emmett.

"Hey, girl!" Emmett said, waving his hand. "I heard you, Alice and my Rosie are having a sleepover."

"More like an 'ambush sleepover'," I corrected.

"Yeah, I heard Alice working with Jasper to figure out your possible excuses," Emmett confirmed. "It was all her idea. She said that you never get to have fun so we would have to force you whether you like it or not. We all agree so we decided to help in."

My mind was racing as I tried to come up with ways to get out of the sleepover. I realized that it would be useless since they knew all my favorite spots. If I ever decided to escape, I was sure that both Emmett and Jasper would be hot on my tail.

"We don't mean any harm," Emmett defended their actions. "After all, you are like a sister to me and we need to force you have fun or you're gonna go cuckoo."

I smiled at Emmett. He certainly knew how to keep the situation light-hearted.

Our English, teacher Ms. Lightfire came in. I sighed as I grabbed a piece of paper and started to doodle knowing that there would be nothing to learn at English. I crumpled a piece of paper into a ball as she said that Shakespeare wrote_ Wuthering Heights_; she told us to compare _Wuthering Heights_ with other works of Shakespeare. I swore that if Bronte heard Lightfire, the former would get up from the grave and drag her by the ear to teach her to get her authors right. When the class was over, I went to Emmett who seemed to be hiding his laughter.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Nothing. I always see a permanent scowl in your face everytime we're in English," Emmett said, chuckling.

"Well, I wouldn't have a permanent scowl on my face if Lightfire gets her facts straight," I pointed out, obvious frustration in my voice.

"Don't say anything unless you're gonna do anything about it," Emmett advised.

I headed to the red bricked building known as the cafeteria where I met Alice and Rosalie for lunch. Alice ordered her usual salad with vinaigrette dressing while Rose got her pizza and Buffalo wings. I chose mashed potato and fried chicken. We took our usual spot which was the middle table at the back of the cafeteria while we waited for Jasper and Emmett.

"Rosalie Hale, I'm amazed at how you maintain your figure ordering those everyday," Alice said, as she grabbed a forkful of her lunch. "I think I'd gain weight just watching you eat."

"I guess that's one of the plus sides of being 5'11''," Rose answered, smiling at her own joke before realizing how insensitive her answer was. She composed herself and did some damage control. "Seriously, how can I? I'm on the swim team, the basketball team, the track team and the cheerleading squad. You only do three things for your extra-curricular activities: shopping, shopping and shopping."

"You forgot to mention the fashion editor of the school paper," Alice added with a smug smile on her face, eating the salad in her fork.

"The point is you need to be more physically active if you don't want to gain weight. Take Bella for example," Rose lectured. "On second thought, don't do things out of obligation or you'll end up like the ice queen sitting right next to you."

"Poor Mike Newton. He's rejected without any consideration," Alice said.

"Better add Tyler Crowley to the list," Rosalie added.

"Well, I'd rather stop talking to them by leading them on than have them follow me like a dog convincing me to reconsider my rejection," I defended myself.

"Bella! That's so cold," Rose chastised.

"It doesn't matter. I told you, none of these guys caught my eyes." I sighed in frustration.

Emmett joined us at our table and sat next to Rose. "So, what have we missed?"

"The guys at Forks High seemed to hold no interest to our dear Bella," Rosalie explained. She looked at me and then shook her head.

"Maybe we should put her on a blind date," Jasper jumped in when he approached our table. He was still smiling when he took the empty spot next to Alice.

"Absolutely not," I said as I pointed my fork filled with mashed potato to Jasper. "I would not put myself into humiliation of such activities as finding myself a date."

"Relax, Bella. I was just kidding." Jasper held both his hands high to show that he surrendered. "Lighten up."

We ate and talked to one another, my earlier outburst forgotten. I enjoyed eating with my friends since they knew to let go of topics I would rather avoid and kept everything light-hearted. They were almost perfect. Almost.

I headed to my last class of the day—Physical Education—where we would be playing badminton. Receiving my racket, I held it with grace of a dancer. I was thankful that I was not as clumsy as I used to since I managed to hit the shuttlecock almost everytime my opponents threw it at me. Although I was good, my partner was not; Mike Newton sent the shuttlecock backwards making me work hard for it. He was only good at hitting it and making it go anywhere except across the net.

"That was a good workout," Mike beamed.

"You think so?" I asked, trying my best to be civil. It was one of the worst badminton games I had ever played.

"I know so," he answered, grinning wide from ear to ear. "Listen, let's partner up again sometime."

"We'll see," I replied, not wanting to promise anything. In truth, I did not want to be his badminton partner again since he was horrible.

"So, Bella, would you like to go to the movie, sometime?" Mike asked as we headed toward the locker rooms.

"I told you, Mike. I am not interested," I said. I shook my head at the absolute cluelessness of my badminton partner.

I reached the girls' locker room and changed into my Alice-approved outfit of the day. As I held up my outfit, I found myself growling at the piece of fabric that showed too much skin for my taste. When I was done changing, I headed to the parking lot where I found Tyler Crowley waiting at my car.

"Let me help you with that," he said.

"Thanks but no thanks," I answered. "I think I could manage."

Tyler looked at me hesitantly, his nervousness palpable as the beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

"So, I was wondering if we can go to the movie sometime," he tried to ask me out on a date for the third time this week.

"I would think about it," I said.

"Think as long as you need," Tyler stated with sadness in his eyes. He stared at me, shook his head and left.

Finally, I climbed to my truck, started my engine, turned on the radio, and left the parking lot as I reflected on my empty existence. Absent-mindedly, I drove myself home and made it in one piece.

When I got home, I went upstairs to change to my workout clothes. I had always worked out an hour a day, three times a week. Once I finished, I changed to my sweatpants and t-shirt before heading downstairs to cook for dinner. Once the lasagna was in the oven and the ingredients for the vinaigrette salad dressing were ready, I did my homework at the dining table as I waited for dinner to be ready.

Both my parents came home from work as scheduled. My mother arrived from the hospital at around five and my father came home at six. They both greeted me with a kiss and a hug before heading upstairs to change. I removed my homework from the dining room table and set it ready for dinner. We always had it everyday no matter how different our schedules were.

"So, Bella, I heard from Alice that you are going at her house for a sleepover," my mother started. She grabbed a forkful of lasagna as she waited for me to answer.

"That's what she said," I told her before chewing on a bite myself. "You know that I love Alice, right? I just hate the sleepover. Imagine spending the whole night being pricked, plucked and prodded."

Both my parents laughed.

"Do me a favor," Mom said laughing, pointing the fork at me. "Please tell Alice to give me a picture of your makeovers. I really like how she does your hair and clothes. That girl has got talent."

I grimaced at her statement. Knowing my mother, she spoke before thinking. When she finally realized what she has said, she apologized about her makeover comment.

"Dad, how's work?" I asked trying to change the topic.

"Pretty good," he answered.

I nodded in understanding. The small town of Forks, Washington was one of the crimeless towns in the country. Its biggest offenders: teenagers who decided to get "creative." They were your typical vandals—the ones who toilet paper trees and write graffiti on the walls.

"So, anything exciting about work, dear?" my mother prodded.

"Nothing really… unless you consider sending some of our police officers to L.A. for eight weeks to train them exciting," he replied. He smiled at the thought before looking down feeling defeated.

"I didn't know about that," my mother stated. "Why don't you go? It might be a good experience."

"It would be nice but Forks needs a chief of police," Dad pointed out.

My father was very adamant at the subject. He did not think anybody would do a better job than he.

"True, but can't you leave for those eight weeks? Let your potential successor get a taste of what it's like to be a chief of police," Mom suggested.

"Since when have you been so encouraging about this?" Dad asked.

"Since I realize that this is a good opportunity for you to grow as a police officer. Don't worry about Bella and me for eight weeks," Mom said.

"Mom's right, Dad. I am the one taking care of both of you anyway," I added with a smile, thinking about my normal routine—cooking, cleaning and doing the laundry. "Don't worry, the house will survive."

"Thanks. So, I guess I should go then." My father smiled. His face instantly lit up at the thought of going to Los Angeles.

We continued eating dinner while discussing the details of the training. It turned out that it was an exchange program between the Los Angeles and Forks police. He explained that the "trainees" would be briefed with the LAPD (he said it stands for Los Angeles Police District) procedure for one week. Then, they would spend seven weeks trying to work with the L.A. police.

Once the dinner was over, mom helped me clean up. She wiped the table while I operated the dishwasher. Afterwards, we settled on the couch to watch some television. I stayed for thirty minutes before heading upstairs to study.

I truly did not need to study as hard as I had. I usually got good grades since I had one of the highest GPA's in Forks High School. Yet I studied as hard as I could in order to maintain my GPA.

I felt tired after two hours of burying my nose under my books. I put my things inside my school bag and did my nightly rituals. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and combed my hair. Afterwards, I changed into my pajamas before lying on my bed and turning off the lamp on my night stand. Once I was in my bed, I pulled the blanket up to my shoulder and said my nightly prayers. Soon I found myself dreaming of my lover—the one I had never met.

_I was in the forest holding a fishing rod when I reached the beautiful waterfall. The sun was casting a beautiful light at the panorama in front of me._

_I placed the hook at the front end of the string of my makeshift fishing rod before adding the bait. Once it was ready, I casted it to the water. I waited patiently and quietly as I enjoyed the beauty of the scenery in front of me. _

_The waterfall looked like it was part of the Garden of Eden. It was clear and reflected the sunlight like the rain producing rainbow. At the bottom of the waterfall, I clearly saw hundreds of fishes swimming. Lying on the verdant grass, I took in the beauty of the landscape around the waterfall. The view was divine. Everywhere I looked, there were small plants with green leaves and budding flowers. It might be early spring; there were flower buds waiting to bloom everywhere._

_Closing my eyes, I got some rest as I waited for a fish or two to take the bait. Suddenly, it felt like someone was watching me. Looking around, I did not see anything so I went back to what I was doing when I heard a twig snapped. I turned to the direction of the sound and was shocked to find a huge brown bear that seemed to be very irritable. I was frozen in place._

_The bear came toward me as I moved away from it. I realized that resistance was futile since it would only take about two to three strides for the bear to grab hold of me. I decided I would not give up without a fight even though it was hopeless. Taking a deep breath, I gathered as much air as I could before letting out the most powerful scream I could muster._

_Seeing me as its prey, the bear lunged at me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my end. I knew that I was about to die but deep within my heart; I hoped that someone would save me._

_Out of nowhere, there was a slashing sound of an arrow. Suddenly, the bear fell backwards. I did not know if the bear was dead but I knew that I was very lucky to be breathing. Still shaken from what happened, I dared not to move. Suddenly, a man approached me. I could not see his face but judging from his clothes, he seemed to be a very important person._

"_Don't worry," he said. "You are safe now."_

_Trembling from fear, I hugged him in relief. He patted my back as he soothed me with his velvet voice. _


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I don't own Twilight. SM owns it.

Last time:

Soon I found myself dreaming of my lover—the one I had never met.

_I was in the forest holding a fishing rod when I reached the beautiful waterfall. The sun was casting a beautiful light at the panorama in front of me._

_I placed the hook at the front end of the string of my makeshift fishing rod before adding the bait. Once it was ready, I casted it to the water. I waited patiently and quietly as I enjoyed the beauty of the scenery in front of me. _

_The waterfall looked like it was part of the Garden of Eden. It was clear and reflected the sunlight like the rain producing rainbow. At the bottom of the waterfall, I clearly saw hundreds of fishes swimming. Lying on the verdant grass, I took in the beauty of the landscape around the waterfall. The view was divine. Everywhere I looked, there were small plants with green leaves and budding flowers. It might be early spring; there were flower buds waiting to bloom everywhere._

_Closing my eyes, I got some rest as I waited for a fish or two to take the bait. Suddenly, it felt like someone was watching me. Looking around, I did not see anything so I went back to what I was doing when I heard a twig snap. I turned to the direction of the sound and was shocked to find a huge brown bear that seemed to be very irritable. I was frozen in place._

_The bear came toward me as I moved away from it. I realized that resistance was futile since it would only take about two to three strides for the bear to grab hold of me. I decided I would not give up without a fight even though it was hopeless. Taking a deep breath, I gathered as much air as I could before letting out the most powerful scream I could muster._

_Seeing me as its prey, the bear lunged at me. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my end. I knew that I was about to die but deep within my heart; I hoped that someone would save me._

_Out of nowhere, there was a slashing sound of an arrow. Suddenly, the bear fell backwards. I did not know if the bear was dead but I knew that I was very lucky to be breathing. Still shaken from what happened, I dared not to move. Suddenly, a man approached me. I could not see his face but judging from his clothes, he seemed to be a very important person._

"_Don't worry," he said. "You are safe now."_

_Trembling from fear, I hugged him in relief. He patted my back as he soothed me with his velvet voice. _

Chapter 2: Going to the Cullens

I woke up with tears streaming down my face. It was always good to see him, even if I could only do that while sleeping. Still reeling from my dream, I sat on my bed and did breathing exercises for ten minutes before finally calming myself. I still wanted to go to back to sleep and never to wake up. Nevertheless, I had to face reality like everybody else. Once I pulled myself together, I did my morning ritual and went to school.

The shining sun and the clear blue sky were in contrast to my gloomy mood. I did not feel like going to school today. Instead, I imagined getting out of my car and running somewhere far, far away. I thought about finding a quiet place, so that I would not have to face the world. I thought of going to the forest, with its green luscious trees giving me solitude. There would be no noisy chattering people within a few miles. The only sound I would hear would be the twittering of the birds, the leaves crunching under my feet and the harmonious cacophony of animals in the forest.

I continued on my way to Forks High School, despite my hesitance. Once I was at the parking lot, I took a deep breath before opening my door and looking up at the clear blue sky. I shook my head dismally as I headed to Rose and Alice, both of whom were just arriving Forks High with their own cars.

Alice got out of her yellow Porsche. Its promising speed and beauty made it one of the only four cars in our high school that was worth looking at. She parked it in the middle of the parking lot, as if shouting to the world to look at her car. Rose, another owner of a brag-worthy car, was driving behind Alice. She moved her car next to Alice and parked it before checking herself in the mirror and opening the door of her red BMW. Looking from afar, their cars looked like it had been misplaced from a car show and wrongfully sent to the junk yard.

"Hi!" I yelled to my friends, with a smile plastered on my face.

"Hi, Bella!" Alice responded, looking at me with concern but not voicing it.

"Come," Rose said, as she offered me her right hand. When I took it, she said again, "Let's go to our locker."

Rose mirrored the same look of concern on Alice's face. Suddenly, Alice uncomfortably turned to me and peered straight into my eyes.

"Bella, would you like to talk about the roaches in your head?" she asked.

"What?" I asked wondering what she meant. It took me three seconds to understand her.

"No," I said. "I don't feel like talking at all."

Alice pouted and glared at me. After a few seconds, she shook her head. She also took my free hand and we continued the quiet procession to our destination.

"Alice, it would be simpler to ask what was bugging me. No need to use roaches at all," I said.

Rose just chuckled. She knew Alice's unique way of saying things as well as I did.

Alice and Rose led me to our lockers. The boys were there, rummaging through their lockers, and placing their required books in their backpacks. Alice opened the locker next to Jasper's. Rose did the same thing, her locker below Emmett's. I took out my belongings from my own across from them.

"What's up with Bella?" Jasper asked, curiously.

"Don't ask," Alice said. "I already asked her about her head worms but she said she doesn't wanna talk about it."

They went back to what they were doing, and did their best to ignore me. However, their feeble attempts were unsuccessful as one of them glanced at me every five seconds or so. I decided to shift the attention away from me by turning my focus on them.

"So, anyway, what were you doing before we arrived?" I asked the boys.

"We decided to play a prank on the Principal," Emmett said, wiggling his eyebrows with a huge grin on his face. "The problem is we don't know where to start."

I shook my head tersely and sighed, knowing the trouble they might cause. The last time Jasper and Emmett had pulled one, the entire school had been on lockdown.

"Don't start," Rose said. "I want to graduate with the two of you."

"Me, too," Alice agreed. "May I remind you that the last time you did that, you were held back by one grade?"

"We know," Emmett said, "But this one is gonna be awesome!"

"No more pranks for you guys, and that's final," Rose declared.

"Girls, give them a break. Look at it this way. At least we know who will pull the senior prank when we graduate," I joked, attempting to lighten up the situation.

Rose glared at me, "You have gotta be kidding me," she muttered with shock.

We got our things from our locker and enjoyed the last few minutes before the ten-minute warning bell rang. Emmett and Jasper pulled out their list of pranks and continued brainstorming, despite the angry glares that the two girls were giving them. Finally, it was time to go to class. We headed our separate ways, with Emmett and I going into the same room.

"What about if we have a bet?" he asked once we were seated at English class.

"No, I will not be betting with someone who bets thousands of dollars for fun," I said, "or, enjoys making someone do something humiliating."

"I don't want to drain your bank account. I also promise that I won't make you do embarrassing stuff." Emmett gave his reassurances.

"Game on," I said, daring to be bold. "As long as it doesn't involve money and humiliation, I'm in."

"What do you want?" he asked.

"A pass for the sleepover," I said.

"Anything but that; Rose will kill me," he explained. "But I'll give you an iPhone if you win."

"Deal," I said. "What's in it for you?"

"A year's supply of tacos," Emmett answered quickly with a big grin on his face. He patted his stomach to emphasize his request.

I shook my head at him and said, "Seriously, Emmett, you know I don't have a budget for the tacos for one year." I shivered at the thought of how much Emmett ate. His appetite was enough to get me bankrupt. "Do you have any other ideas?"

"How about doing my homework for a month?" he asked.

"Deal," I said.

"This is going to be so much fun!" he exclaimed while rubbing his hands together.

We spat in our palms and shook on it. Afterwards, I quickly grabbed my hand sanitizer and applied some on my hand.

"Want some?" I offered.

"Thanks," he said before taking some for himself.

"What's the bet on?"

"Lightfire," he said, continuing with a gleam in his eyes. "We predict how long she would last before making her first mistake of the day."

I genuinely smiled for the first time today. "I say ten minutes."

"I'm counting on fifteen," Emmett said.

Lightfire came in at 7:35 am. She made a few announcements before starting her lecture at 7:44 in the morning.

"Today, we will be discussing Romeo and Juliet," she said. "Turn your books to act two, scene three, where Juliet was to be married to Jacob."

"Emmett…" I paused, "there is no Jacob in Romeo and Juliet. I won!"

"No!" Emmett cried out. He looked at the ceiling, his hands on his face like the screaming blonde child in the movie _Home Alone_.

"You guys be quiet," Lightfire shouted.

"Sorry," I apologized.

"Get back to work," she said.

We both nodded, opening the book. I placed it in front of me, but grabbed a piece of paper and started doodling. When the class ended, I reminded Emmett of our bet.

"Sure," Emmett replied. "What color?"

"Green," I said.

"You got it," Emmett happily stated. "It'll be yours by next week."

We left the room and headed towards the opposite direction to go to our next class. I found Rose and Alice, and told them how I won a bet with Emmett.

"So, you mean to tell me that my big bear of a brother is buying you an iPhone right now?" Alice asked.

"Yes," I answered with a huge smile on my face.

"Darn," Rose commented. "I should've joined the bet. It sounds like fun."

"Sure, Rose. Next time attend English with us," I kidded.

"On second thought, maybe not," Rose quickly retracted.

I nodded my head. "That's the reward of sitting through Lightfire's class. We have to think of ways to amuse ourselves," I explained to her.

"You're right," Alice agreed. "We have better things to do than to sit in the class with a boring and brainless English teacher."

I nodded my head and laughed; they never had Lightfire as a teacher. I looked at my watch, panicking as I realized that I only had three minutes to get into my next class. "Okay, gotta go," I said as I kissed Rose and Alice on their cheeks.

I saluted my best friends goodbye once more and headed to my next class.

During lunch time, I headed to the restroom first before going to the cafeteria. As I reached the bathroom, I heard two girls talking about me. I stayed outside, and eavesdropped.

"Have you heard? Newton asked Bella out," the first girl said.

"Yeah, I also heard from Newton that he was doing her," the second girl replied.

"Oh, no he didn't!" Girl number one said.

"Yes, he did."

"So, I thought that she was the last uncharted territory in the whole high school. I guess even the best of us would have fallen," said the former.

"Yeah, even the best among us, poor girl." She snickered.

"Do you believe him?"

"I do. Bella Swan maybe high and mighty, but I bet she's not as perfect as everyone thinks she is."

I got so upset that I could not take listening in anymore; I realized why it was rude to eavesdrop. Going straight to the cafeteria, I grabbed my food and seated myself with my friends.

"Bella, what's the matter?" Alice asked. "You look worse than you did this morning."

"I heard two girls in the bathroom saying nasty things about me. They said that I had slept with Newton," I answered.

"The nerve of those girls. I'll take care of this," Rosalie said.

Turning her pointed heels away from us, she strutted into the bathroom with a scornful look on her face. A few minutes later, two frightened girls came out of there. When they turned around, I saw that they were Lauren and Jessica; the official gossips of the school. Rosalie came out last and approached our spot with a smug look on her face.

"What did you do to those girls?" Alice asked curiously.

"Nothing," Rosalie answered. "I just set the rumor straight. I told them Bella did not sleep with Newton or she would've told us. I also said that if I ever heard another malicious lie about her that could not be proven at all, they would answer to me directly."

Alice chuckled and high-fived Rose.

"Thanks, Rose," I said, shocked at the great length she would go to defend me.

"No problem. Next time, you should grow some spine and defend yourself," Rosalie said nonchalantly, and I felt the sting of her honest words.

"Anyway, we're always here to support you," she said.

"Yeah, no one dares to mess with us," Alice said.

"Thanks, girls," I smiled at my best friends.

"No problem," Rose said. "Come here."

And with that, Rose enveloped us in a group hug.

When school ended on Friday afternoon, I dropped off my bags at home before heading to the Cullens' house. I also cooked dinner for my parents, knowing that they would starve without me. Once I completed my to-do list, I changed and headed to the most famous white house in Forks.

The five-minute trip was enjoyable; it somehow brought nostalgia. In a way, it was like a homecoming. I had spent most of my time there when I was growing up. It was where Alice, Rose, Emmett, Jasper and I used to play hide-and-seek until it became too dark for us to play. I spent countless summers and holidays there, eagerly waiting for Esme to call us to take a break and eat delicious homemade cookies, or other good food she prepared with love and care.

The Cullen residence could not be seen anywhere near a paved road. People visiting needed to get accustomed to the dusty road that went on for miles, before coming to a big white house deep within the forest.

Once I made my way to the winding road, all I could see was the never-ending greenery. I looked at my surroundings with excitement. There were cedars everywhere as well as sequoia, oak and maple. I saw the big sign that said "Private Property;" a marker telling people that they were heading to the Cullen estate. It was meant to tell people to keep heading forward if that was where they were going, or to head back in case they had gotten lost. When the unpaved road ended, I saw the most beautiful mansion in Forks, Washington.

I slowed down when I was close to the big, white and three-story-high mansion. I stopped and gazed at the vividly colored plants surrounding it. There was a stone pavement leading to the house. It looked as welcoming as a small cottage, despite its enormous size.

I turned off my engine, and went to the back of my truck to grab my bag. When my bags were securely on my shoulders, I walked to the front door and knocked with my right hand.

The lovely woman who answered the front door was so loving and caring, I always thought of her as my own mother. She welcomed me with a big smile on her face and the most loving hug.

"Welcome home, Bella," Esme said.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **All the Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Everything else belong to me. You may not reproduce this without my written consent.

* * *

**Previously...**

I slowed down when I was close to the big, white and three-story-high mansion. I stopped and gazed at the vividly colored plants surrounding it. There was a stone pavement leading to the house. It looked as welcoming as a small cottage, despite its enormous size.

I turned off my engine, and went to the back of my truck to grab my bag. When my bags were securely on my shoulders, I walked to the front door and knocked with my right hand.

The lovely woman who answered the front door was so loving and caring, I always thought of her as my own mother. She welcomed me with a big smile on her face and the most loving hug.

"Welcome home, Bella," Esme said.

**Chapter 3: Girls Only (No Boys Allowed)**

"Alice and Rosalie are waiting for you up stairs," said Esme, letting go of me and then leading me inside the house.

"Thank you, Esme," I said.

The inside of the house exuded warmth just like Esme. It truly reflected her—simple yet elegant. The walls were painted in a light shade of brown (similar to chocolate frosting) and the floors were royal blue. It seemed like an unusual choice of colors but only she could pull it off. Her couches were white but with a very little tint of light pink.

"Emmett," Esme called, "bring Bella's bag to her room."

Emmett came down the stairs and smiled when he saw me. He gave me a big bear hug.

"I'm glad you made it," he said. "Both the girls are talking about you."

"Really?" I asked skeptically.

"It's true," Emmett said. "I'm just glad that I'm on the other room so that I don't have to hear them talk about what to do with you. You'll gonna be in a lot of trouble."

I saw the twinkle in Emmett's eyes. From his look of amusement, I knew that I would be the girls' living Barbie tonight.

He took my bag, brought it upstairs and to the room that I always stayed on. My room was large and very inviting. Its high ceiling and its walls were as blue as the sky; the floor was the color of the sand. There was also a small pine tree beside my bed to give the illusion that the room was in a tropical island. I found myself relaxing as I entered the sanctuary outside my own room.

"Bella!" Alice exclaimed before Emmett could even drop my bag on the floor.

Alice hugged me and dragged me to her room. I yelled goodbye to Emmett who just laughed knowing the plans the girls intended to subject me into.

Located on the second floor at the first door to the right, Alice's room was one of the largest rooms in the house. It was obvious that she designed her room —it was very unique and was oozing with creativity. Her walls were lined with ivory wallpaper that had tiny flower prints on it while her carpet was chocolate brown; her ceiling was painted with the "cotton candy" pink. There was a study desk in the upper right corner of her room while her bed was leaning on the wall. I saw Rose stood up from where she was to greet me.

"Hi, Rose!" I said. "Let me get settled first before we continue our girl time."

"Okay," Alice agreed. "The bags I packed for you are in my closet."

"Lead the way then," I told her.

Alice grabbed my hands and brought me closer to the wall. Giving it a few organized taps, a secret door opened. She pushed and let us in, leading us to her closet.

Alice's closet was really a big room by itself. Apparently, Esme realized that her daughter's love for fashion required a lot of closet space. Since she did not want it to ruin Alice's bedroom design, she had a secret door to hide her daughter's closet from the public eye. Alice loved the "secret room" appeal of it that she did not mind tapping the walls just to get there.

I grabbed the luggage that Alice packed for me. It was the big one that both my parents used whenever we go for one-week vacation. I opened it and picked up an outfit at random. When I raised it up, I realized that it was almost showing both my bare butt and chest.

"Alice, what did you do? I could not use any of these," I complained, holding out the offensive pieces of clothing.

"Nonsense," Alice replied. She grabbed the stripper outfit and handed it to me. "This outfit is called a spaghetti strap and shorts. People wear this to feel comfortable at home."

"Okay, if you say so," I agreed, silently telling myself to change later with the clothes I brought with me once I had the chance to go to my room.

"By the way, I bought new tarot cards," Alice said.

"So, you're going to read our future?" I asked.

"Yeah, later though." Alice answered. She and Rose left me to change.

When I was done, I went back to Alice's room where both girls were waiting. Lying down on the most comfortable bed beside my best friends, we watched _50 First Dates_ with Drew Barrymore, instantly followed by _Just Like Heaven_ with Reese Witherspoon. It was already eight in the evening by the time the second movie was over.

"Hey, girls!" Alice exclaimed. "Are you hungry or what?"

"I'm hungry," I stated. "What do we have for dinner?"

"Chicken enchilada. We also have chicken pasta. We're working on a chicken theme," Alice said with a smile.

We headed to the dining table where a feast of poultry was waiting for us. We sat on the dining room chair and helped ourselves Esme's cooking.

"Where is Esme, Emmett and Carlisle?" I asked curiously.

"Mom is on a date with Dad," Alice answered. "Emmett is with Jasper."

"They're having a sleepover at my house," Rosalie explained. "Alice kicked out Emmett since we're here for girl-bonding."

"So, Emmett and Jasper are staying at your house?" I repeated.

Rosalie nodded. "Yeah, Emmett and my brother are still planning the principal prank," Rosalie said with a huff.

I nodded and took another bite. As soon as the food touched my tongue, I moaned, experiencing the layers of ingredients of the enchilada. I tasted the chicken that was blended with the other ingredients to harmoniously create the exquisite taste of this particular e dish. "Remind me to get the recipe from your mother," I told Alice.

We sat in silence as we continued our dinner, enjoying our food. It was hard to start a conversation when all you wanted to do was to eat and enjoy what you put on your mouth. Occasionally, we would speak and tell each other what we were thinking. I was glad to be in good company while enjoying good food.

Once everyone had finished, we all helped cleaning up. I cleared the table while Rose and Alice used the dishwasher. An unusual task for both Alice and Rose, it took them about three minutes to figure out which buttons to push to get the dishwasher running. Once the dishwasher was operational and I was done cleaning the table, we headed upstairs to Alice's bedroom. We closed the doors and grabbed some candles which we lit up before turning off the light to begin our next activity. We formed a circle around the candles and made ourselves comfortable.

"So, who would begin the story first?" Alice asked, her ears perking up.

"I don't know. Why don't we draw lots?" I suggested.

"Okay," Rose said. She grabbed at piece of paper and tore up the pieces. Next she wrote numbers and folded them. She placed them inside her hand, covered it and shook it. When she was done, she made us pick first before taking the last one.

I got the paper that said one. Then, Alice got two and finally, Rosalie got three.

"I guess I would go first," I said. "Are you comfortable?"

"Actually, I was thinking that it should go backwards," Rose said. "Me first, then Alice then you should be the last."

"Why don't I get to be first?" Alice asked.

"Because we drew lots," Rose answered. "Anyway, this is the perfect opportunity for Bella to go last. We just have to manipulate the circumstances to our advantage. Since she was not in the middle, we could make her go either first or last depending on our choice. Don't you want her to go last? I am always interested in listening to her stories."

Alice nodded her head. For some reason, they seemed to enjoy my stories even though I only told them my dreams with my few added twists. They both knew my source but they still found mine interesting. They even suggested that I write and publish it and see how much money I would make.

Rose stared at us and then she started talking.

Her story was about Lucifer's rebellion with a twist. In her narration, she said that Lucifer fell in love with a human. She then explained how Lucifer rebelled against God because the latter killed the Lucifer's beloved out of jealousy. It made Lucifer very angry and ended up opposing God so that human beings could have a choice.

Alice and I just sat there mesmerized. After all, this was the first time we heard the story about the fall of the angels that made God the villain. It was original in its own way—it made Lucifer the good guy. When she finished, both Alice and I were crying, so we gave her our applause.

"Rose," Alice said. "That was the most beautiful story I have ever heard."

"Mine too," I agreed.

"Where did you get it from?" Alice asked.

"It's the story of the angels," Rose answered with a smirk on her face. "I added twists of it on my own."

A few compliments later, Rose and I turned to Alice, who would be telling her story next. With a big smile in her face, I took a deep breath, preparing myself for the strangest story I would ever hear.

"So, tell us about your story," I urged her.

Alice's story was unique in its own way. It featured Emmett and Rose going to La Push. Then, they accidentally discovered that the men at the La Push tribe had been turning into a bunch of werewolves, protecting the world from evil "aliens." Rose and Emmett were not able to understand what was going on so they decided to investigate. Their curiosity led to a lot of trouble for both the pack and themselves until they finally understood what was going on. The two agreed to keep it a secret since they realized that the wolves were protecting people and not harming them at all.

Rosalie and I stared at her with shock on our faces. Although Alice and Rose believed that I was the best story teller of the group, Alice was the most creative. She could come up with the most original idea. She truly deserved a pat on the back for being creative.

"So, we saved the best for last," Rose said. "It's your turn, Bella."

"Out of curiosity, why do you say that my story is the best?" I asked.

"Your story is epic. It seemed that the Titanic love story got revived through you," Alice answered.

I took a deep breath as both of them turned to look at me. I told them about the dream I had a few days ago with added embellishments.

"There was once a commoner in love with a prince. She was hoping that he would notice her. Everyday, she would stop what she was doing and stare at the castle window, hoping and imagining that the prince would be looking at her. She would smile the widest smile in her face and get back to work.

"Unfortunately, the prince was engaged to be married. He was betrothed to the highest priestess in the land. Everything was being planned for the upcoming nuptials—the cake, the altar, the clothes, and everything that would be used for the wedding.

"One day, the peasant realized that her dream would not come true. When the royal messenger announced the prince's engagement to the priestess, she wept. Not knowing what else to do, she took her fishing rod and went to the forest to catch some fish.

"The forest was the most beautiful forest you would ever see. Everywhere you look was a different shade of green, from Emerald to the darkest blue green. The peasant came to the waterfall she always had gone to whenever she was fishing. Finding a good spot, she dropped her fishing hook at the water after attaching it to the fishing rod and adding the bait. She waited and thought of what was happening around her.

"Her deep concentration was broken by a snapping of the twig. She looked around her and suddenly found an eight-foot-bear towering over her. The bear was beautiful and yet terrifying at the same time. It was the brownest bear you would have ever seen. It reminded her of a first class mahogany, but with added sharp teeth.

"The helpless peasant realized that her life was about to end. Trying to fight fate with every bit of strength she had left, she screamed at the top of her lungs hoping that someone could hear her close by. After she shouted, she finally resigned to her death. She knew that resistance was futile so she did not even fight.

"She closed her eyes, resigning to what would be her last breath. She saw her whole life flashed before her eyes. She saw her parents, her friends, and her neighbors in her village. At last, she saw the prince, standing in the dignified manner like he always had been. She wished to see him for the last time before she died.

"She closed her eyes and said her dying prayers. Then, she heard a gunshot. Not knowing what had happened, she kept her eyes closed for a few more seconds before having the courage to open them up again. She found the bear lying down in front of her.

"She saw a person coming up to her. He had the greenest eyes you would ever see. She remembered seeing him from afar—always from afar. She had never seen him up close.

"Her whole body trembled, as he approached her. Not knowing what would happen, she matched his movement, step by step, stride by stride. When they were at arms' length distance, he reached out to and hugged her.

" 'Don't worry,' he said. 'You're safe.'

"The peasant let out a sob. 'I'm so glad to be alive,' the peasant said.

" 'I'm sure you are,' he said. 'Let's get you to a doctor. He should be able to check for injuries and cure them.'

" 'Thank you,' she said. 'I owe my life to you.'

" 'May I know your name, my lady?' he said.

"'I'm Bella,' she said.

" 'Nice to meet you, Bella,' he said. 'I'm Edward. Prince Edward of the Masen dynasty.'

"So, the prince took her to the castle to nurse her back to health. He made sure that she had everything she needed in order to be comfortable. Finally, he realized that she would leave soon.

"The prince observed that while Bella that he had grown fond of her. He did not want her to leave at all so he made sure that she had a job at the castle. He decided to hire her as his own maidservant.

"The prince tried to get her attention whenever she was working. He put the dirtiest clothes on the floor and made sure that his room was out of control. He even asked for his sister's clothes to be put into his room. Then, he spread ashes from the fireplace all over his bedroom.

"Bella, on the other hand, did not appreciate the slob that she called her savior. Sure, she dreamt of him all the time, hoping that he would notice her, but it seemed to her that he only thought of her as a servant. All she did all day was fixing his room, sweeping, taking out the garbage and cleaning, wiping, dusting everywhere. She had no time to do anything else. After a month, she got fed up with the slob and decided to leave.

"She asked permission to her superior but the latter did not approve. She said, 'I'm sorry Bella but I cannot fire you since I have no authority over that.'

" 'What do you mean?' Bella asked. 'I thought you're my boss.'

" 'I maybe your boss but I had no power to hire you or fire you,' the supervisor said. 'I can order you around but your termination should be directly said to Prince Edward.'

" 'Why?' she asked.

" 'Because the Prince hired you, silly. He said that he was the only one who could fire you and anybody else who does would get fired themselves. If you were to ever quit, you should go and talk to him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other maidservants to supervise,' the supervisor said before leaving.

"Bella waited for a few days before gathering enough courage to give her resignation. She was ready to go back to her old life. She longed for the pastures in her village, as well as the smell of the farm around her. She missed her family and friends, all of whom she had not seen in quite a while.

"Bella came up to the prince when she was cleaning one day and said, 'I want to quit now.'

"The prince asked her, 'What's the problem? Don't I pay you enough money?'

" 'No, my prince,' Bella said. 'Not everything is about money.'

" 'Then, why?' he asked.

" 'Personally, I'm tired of being treated like your slave. You ran around your room finding things for me to do. I mean, if you did that unintentionally, it would be fine and I would gladly take care of the problem. However, you gathered dirty laundry from your sisters' room, and dump them in your floor. Then, you gather ashes from the fireplace and spread them everywhere. Are you crazy? Why do you make my life miserable? Well, I realized that I am not a doormat and that I am a living breathing human being. Therefore, I would leave the castle and get my dignity back,' Bella said. She turned her heel and headed to the door.

" 'Wait,' the prince said. 'Don't you want to know why?'

" 'Any good reason would be acceptable,' Bella answered.

" 'I wanted to see you all the time, wondering how you're doing. Sometimes, it would drive me crazy by not knowing where you are. Keeping you here is the best possible solution I had to solve my problem.

" 'Knowing you're in the same castle is not enough for me. I wanted to see you as much as possible. I figured that I would need to mess up my room so that you would have no choice but to come here. That's why I always make my room as chaotic as possible just to find a reason to make you come. Deep down, I smile to myself about being a genius. I managed to get you to stay.

" 'You had no idea how strong your hold is to me. I broke up my engagement with the high priestess a few days ago and I will make my announcement by the end of the week. You had to be the most special person that I could think of if I were to break a long-held tradition.

" 'Bella, would you forgive me for deceiving you?' the prince asked.

"The prince managed to make Bella cry. She did not realize that her prayers had been answered unknowingly. The whole time the prince was trying to make her miserable, it was like boys trying to be mean to the girls they like to get their attention. He certainly had hers.

"A few days later, the prince made the announcement that ended his engagement with the priestess of Denali, the highest priestess of the land. He said that he was soul searching when he realized that he could not do it. His attempt to calm the crowd went to no avail. Everyone had a violent reaction. Some were vehemently opposed to the idea. Others welcomed it with open arms. However the people reacted, it did not matter to him. Only one reaction mattered to him the most.

"He went back to the castle and looked for his favorite maidservant. He saw her cleaning his room and bringing in fresh laundry. She looked at him in the eye and said, 'Welcome home.'

"He approached her slowly and cautiously but did not know how she would react to the news. Would she love it? Would she hate it? Would she care? One thing is for sure: he loved her and wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

"Moving closer to her, he kissed her as he could not stop the urge that ran from his core. He felt a strong current passed them as he felt his lips on hers. Not knowing how she would react, he apologized to her and said that he would do anything to make up for it.

" 'What do you want me to do?' the prince asked.

" 'Kiss me again and I forgive you,' Bella said. The prince complied. They had been together ever since," I ended my story.

"Another swoon-worthy story from you, my dear," said Alice. "This time, however, I think Rose beat you."

"It doesn't matter," I said. "You always said mine was the best for I don't know how long. It's time to give up the crown once in a while."

With my story telling, we ended the game. We then proceeded to take our turns for Alice to read our future.

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**End Notes:** I started writing the "expressly written consent" part after I have seen it in the disclaimers of some of my favorite fanfics (vjgm's Trust in Advertising in particular). I don't know if I'll ever have that problem but at least I am clear with it from the beginning.

Anyway, what do you think of the chapter? R&R would be appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: All recognizable characters are property of Stephenie Meyer. The rest belong to me. No one may reproduce this material without my consent.

This is sleepover continued. This is a pretty short chapter and it looks deeper into the relationship of the three girls. Enjoy reading!

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Chapter 4: Sleepover Continued

Rose and I blew out the candles while Alice turned on the lights. Then, the three of us settled ourselves in the middle of the bed. Alice took out her tarot card along with a cheat sheet because she was supposed to read our future. However, Rose and I felt ridiculous because our tarot reader would read from a card reading dictionary.

"Who wants to go first?" Alice asked.

Rose and I looked at each other. Finally, Rose braved it out and volunteered.

"Me," she said. "I better get this over with."

Alice faced Rose as the former asked the latter to shuffle the cards. Then, fortune teller asked her guinea pig to cut the deck of cards into three and put them back in any order. Lastly, pixie asked beauty queen to pick up nine cards before the former arranged the cards in a particular order.

"This is also called a nine-card-spread," Alice said as she flipped the cards right-side-up whenever Rose handed her one. She arranged them three per column by three per row.

Alice read from the cheat sheet to know what the spread meant before describing Rose's future. "It says here that you used to be in the position of power in your past life. Maybe a former royalty," Alice said.

Rose and I looked at each other. We were not able to help it when our shoulders started shaking before letting out our laughter.

"Be serious, Alice," Rose said. "I know you're making this stuff out but could you come up with a believable story?"

"But what I'm saying is true," Alice insisted. "You believe me, right, Bella?"

"I'm sorry to say this, but Rose is right. You should've come up with a more believable story," I said.

Alice let out a pout and tears started to form in her eyes. Her lips began to quiver as her shoulders involuntarily moved up and down looking like she was gasping for breath. Then, she finally burst into tears.

"I'm not making this up," she said in between her sobs.

Rose and I looked at each other. We had a very different idea of handling a crying Alice. I moved first to hug Alice as Rose thought of her apology. "Alice, don't cry. Let's stop this game. Who needs to know about the future anyway?"

"You didn't take this one seriously," she said, continuously crying. "I thought it's supposed to be fun."

"It is fun, Alice," I said. "Just not in the way you expect it to be."

"I'm sorry, Alice. It's only fun if you don't cry," Rose said before taking the tarot card deck away from Alice's hands. She put it back on the packaging and then placed it on the table. "Let's do something else."

Finally, Alice's lips started to turn up before turning into a full smile. She then looked at Rose before looking at me. I felt like their sacrificial lamb as my makeover wood begin in a few minutes.

Suddenly, I asked myself if it was worth the torture appeasing my friends when I myself felt uncomfortable for our makeover. I kept telling them that I did not like it but it seemed that my pleas fell into deaf ears. The two of them seemed to enjoy this activity so much that they did not pay attention when I said that I did not want it at all.

I sat on the chair staring straight ahead. Alice made me face different directions. She asked me to look up, look down, tilt my head to the left, and then tilt my hair to the right. I felt like a robot; I was doing what I was told to do, no questions ask.

"Bella, I told you to stay still," Alice complained.

"Does my head really have to be in this angle for you to put on some blush-on?" I asked.

"Yes, because Rose and I would bump into each other if you don't," Alice explained.

I sat there pouting my lips. Looking at myself in the mirror, I watched the two girls as they continued to pull my hair and poke my face with different contraptions that should only be found in a torture chamber. They might help you look beautiful but women should not go through a lot of pain just to be beautiful. Checking at the clock, I knew that I had about thirty minutes before going to the next level of torment—modeling Alice's clothes.

"Seriously, Bella, you're beautiful," Rose said.

"Why do I need to do this?" I asked before sighing. "Rose, let's face it. I'm not as beautiful as you. In addition, I don't want to put on makeup when I'm at home—either mine or any of yours. I think it's ridiculous to beautify yourself especially when only the family would see it."

"Silly, Bella. To answer your first question, you really look beautiful. We're just enhancing what the nature already gave you. Second, you need to practice your makeup somewhere before you appear in public. In this case, only Carlisle and Esme would see you besides us," Rose replied.

"Rosalie Hale, do you really think I would be as beautiful as you?" I asked her directly.

With one hand on her waist, Rose looked at me. "Don't compare yourself to me, Bella. You're beautiful in your own right. You're more approachable than I am. I may be pretty but I am naturally intimidating," Rosalie answered.

"Which is exactly why she has Emmett," Alice added. "My brother obviously doesn't have an ounce of nerves. He just does everything head on so he did not even think when he asked Rose out."

"I wouldn't put it that way," Rose stated. "But Alice is right. Emmett didn't care about his nerves when he asked me out. He just looked at me in the eye and said, 'Rosalie, would you go out with me?' I was so stunned that I just nodded and we were going out ever since."

"I remember that. I was so shocked when you told us on sixth grade that you're going out with Emmett," I said.

"Exactly. Now, you on the other hand, tend not to be as intimidating. Boys have asked you out everywhere. Damn, you have more suitors than me and yet you said that I was the most beautiful woman out there," Rosalie pointed out.

"It's because Jasper has been pimping me out," I reasoned.

"Nah. It's all you. Jasper just gave you a bigger audience," Alice joined in.

I just nodded since Rose had a point that I was more approachable than her.

"Ouch! My eye!" I exclaimed as Alice poked my eyelid a little bit harder than usual.

"Oh, shush, Bella. I told you to stop moving," she said.

"Now, we're only doing you a makeover to bring you out of your comfort zone. Knowing your style, you would make yourself invisible if we don't intervene every now and then. Actually, you are very beautiful. We just want to show the world the true beauty of Bella Swan," Alice explained.

"What true beauty? Having a ton of powder on your face is masking the beauty," I argued smugly.

"Well, let's say enhance your beauty. Does that sound better?" Alice asked.

"Nah. Enhancing your beauty sounds like you're having plastic surgery," I said.

"Bella, you're impossible," Rose finally exclaimed before laughing. "But seriously, we just want people to look at you and not make you feel that you're invisible. Do you realize that in the real world, people would look at you a certain way and judge you by the way you look? Future employers, for example, would hire you based on how you're dressed up for the interview."

I sat there as I contemplated on their words. "Is that why we had the 'Battle of the Closet' on junior high?" I asked.

Both Rose and Alice laughed. They must have remembered the time when I got mad at Alice that I did not speak for her for about a month.

Rose nodded her head. "Yup." She chuckled.

"I'm still paying for it," I said. "That was quite a compromise."

"Look at it this way. At least we prevented Alice from burning the rest of your clothes. Would you rather have your entire wardrobe replaced because of Alice?" Rose asked.

"Nope. I like to keep what little sweats I have—at least until Alice picks one of them for her monthly destruction. As I had said, I'm still paying for it," I answered.

"So?" Alice asked. "Then buy a new one. You have a ton of sweats anyway."

I just shook my head because Alice was clearly missing the point. I looked at Rose who nodded in understanding. It was not nice to go into someone's closet and destroy any piece of clothing that someone found offensive.

"Quit moving, Bella," Alice chastised.

The girls continued to use me as their test subject. When they were done, they gave each other a high five before sending me to the closet to wear the new clothes that Alice bought for me. I ended up changing my outfit a few times.

The first one was a mini skirt with sleeveless top and a light jacket. She paired it up with a stiletto. Needless to say, the combo made me feel like a hooker. Regardless, I modeled the outfit in front of Rose and Alice. When I stood in front of them, both nodded their heads and said "next" at the same time.

The second one was jeans with a really cute tee, paired with sneakers. Now, this was my favorite. I enjoyed the feeling of wearing clothes without exposing myself. The plain, dark blue tee felt like a second skin. I loved wearing jeans since it looked like it had been worn so much that it had tear here and there. I felt so comfortable that for once, I appreciated the outfit Alice had picked up for me.

"That's so Bella," Rosalie commented.

"But I definitely like it," Alice added.

Another outfit I modeled was this pink sundress. I loved the length since it reached past my ankle but I just hated the color. Pink was definitely not my style.

"You look like a Greek goddess on that one," Rose commented.

"Pink?" I asked.

"No. fuchsia," Alice answered.

After modeling for what seemed like hours, I was ready to call it a night. I yawned and looked at the clock, surprised to see that it was only eleven. I looked at Alice and Rose, who seemed to have more energy as the night went by.

"Guys, I really am tired. I guess I'll go to sleep now," I said while I yawned.

"Okay." Alice nodded. "Did you have a good time?"

"For the most part," I answered. "Except for the makeover, I pretty much enjoyed the whole thing."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Rose said. "Go ahead and sleep. Alice and I would just watch _Romeo + Juliet_ so you won't miss anything."

I nodded. I knew that I would miss their light banter but we had seen _Romeo + Juliet_ about a hundred times altogether. I would have loved to stay and watch but I was so tired, I would probably fall asleep watching the movie. I gave my girls a hug before heading to my room. When I got there, I went straight to my bag to look for sweatshirts and sweatpants. I changed into my more comfortable clothing before doing my evening rituals, closing my eyes and preparing myself to a deep sleep.

That night I dreamt of him again. He definitely looked as handsome as a god who came down from Olympus.

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End Note: I wrote a one-shot called Escape as an entry for "For the Love of Jasper" Contest. Please vote for me!


	6. Chapter 6

First things first. I have just been through hell week. 5 tests in a week. Good thing it's midsem break the day after tomorrow!

Second, it finally rained in SoCal! I know! It's inconvenient yet I could hear no one complaining. I think everybody is just happy especially with all the forest fires and water provisions because of draught. Yay, rain!

I was almost done with the writing workshop. I think it would help. Chapter 5 is partly the result of that. I know I still have a long way to go but I really want to be a better writer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight and any of the characters associated with it. I would love to own Edward but like every Twilight character, he belongs to Stephenie Meyer. However, this story belongs to me so if I see this posted in any fanfiction site, unless I give my written permission, I wouldask James to hunt you down and drain your blood.

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Chapter 5: My Dream About My Prince

I was in the forest, running and crying as I felt my heart ache. Escaping deep into the woods, all I wanted was to be alone and to cry until I finally ran out of tears. I could hear him calling my name from behind. With tears blurring my vision, I ran as fast as I could to try to get away from him.

"Bella!" he shouted. "Please stop running and talk to me. Please!"

At the sound of his voice, I felt my eyes gave way to fresh tears. I moved deeper into the forest, where the trees grew taller and were closer together. I finally ignored his voice. There was no need to pay attention to him if I wanted to escape.

"Go away!" I cried.

By now, I could not see where I was going since the trees grew so close together that the sun's rays could not reach the ground. Everywhere I looked, I could only see blurry brown and green environment surrounding me. I wiped my tears with my hand, trying to remove the tears that clouded my vision but it did not do anything but it did not help at all. My eyes were swollen and I had a hard time keeping them as wide open.

I gasped for air, running out of breath, but I could not stop myself from both running and crying at the same time. With my clouded vision, I tripped and fell a few times. Each time I stumbled, I scraped my hands and my knees, as well and dirtied my clothes. With every fall I got up, dusted myself, and continued to run.

"Bella!" he shouted. "Listen to me. Talk to me. Could you give me a chance to explain?"

I finally turned around and respond to him. He should realize by now that I did not want him here.

"Listen to what?" I asked. "There was nothing for me to hear, Edward. Go back to the palace where you should be. Leave me alone!"

With my words, I felt the cuts in my heart got worse. It was as if truth had finally picked up the scabs and opened the wound just to pour salt all over it.

"Damn it, Bella!" he said. "What's the matter with you? Couldn't you be reasonable for one moment and just for once, give me a chance?"

I turned away from him and ignored him with his muttering. Still running and sobbing, I continued to stumble. I tried to ignore my broken heart but it got worse before it got better. With each stride, I felt my legs began to feel sore. It started to feel like I was broken in both body and spirit. I wanted the pain to go away. If I could feel numb, I would welcome it with open arms. It would be a welcome change with my grieving heart. This would be the reprieve I needed, like a gallon of water after walking for hours in the desert.

I finally realized what everyone had known all along—we did not belong together. He was a prince and I, a commoner. I was nothing but a speck of dust in this world while he would be mentioned in legends.

I did not notice what was happening when I tripped on something and felt a sharp pain on my ankle. I tried to get up but it hurt when I moved. Angry tears ran down my eyes. Not only was I feeling emotional pain but I also had to deal with a temporary disability.

"God! Why do you hate me so much?" I finally shouted as I cried.

I stayed in that position, crying from both pain, physical and emotional, as I cursed God. He seemed to be having fun with making me miserable. He seemed to make me his personal entertainer. I suddenly found myself being enveloped in a pair of warm and comfortable arms. When I looked up, I saw my prince.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. I answered him with a nod. "I'll take you to the doctor."

I took a deep breath and looked at him in the eye. "I do not need your help. I could take care of myself," I said brusquely. "Now, if you'll excuse me…"

I got up from where I sat then limped and headed toward home.

"Please, let me do something," he pleaded.

Mustering all my strength, I looked at him again and said firmly, "I'm fine."

"Bella," he exhaled while saying my name.

I suddenly felt myself being lifted off the ground. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'll take you to the doctor. I just can't let you walk when I know you're in pain," he answered.

"Shouldn't you be back to your fiancée? I'm managing fine on my own."

"You're quite stubborn, you know. Do you think I'll let you walk when I could see that you're in pain?" Prince Edward argued.

"Yes. People do it all the time. Usually, they left the disabled alone," I retorted.

"You're not like most people—" he began but I cut him off.

"I am a commoner so I am like most people."

"Not to me," he said. "Would you look at me?"

I took a closer look at him. With fresh tears falling from my eyes, I gazed into the perfection hovering over me. He looked like Eros, the god of love. His green eyes were like emeralds staring deeply into my brown as if he was trying to see through me. However, looking at him also broke my heart. There were wet blotches in his eyes; he too was crying.

"You are a very special person," he revealed. "You are the most precious person in my life right now."

A new batch of tears flowed from my eyes. When I looked at him, I realized that he was in tears mirroring my own.

"You are my life and my world," he said as I saw tears involuntarily flowed down his face. "I cannot let you go at all. Nothing else mattered to me as long as I am with you."

"What about your parents?" I asked.

"They would understand," he replied. "I don't care what they say."

"Would you still think like that years from now?" I asked. "I'm a humble commoner who had neither status nor rights. I could not offer you anything and yet you are offering your future to me. Have you thought about all of those?"

"Do you think I care about that?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I just thought that you would be happier with the way things are right now. What more could you ask for? You live in the world where you did not need to dig through the soil to survive."

I saw Prince Edward grimaced as fresh tears fell down his eyes. "Didn't you realize that you're the only person who brings joy in my life? I'm miserable without you," he said. "Here."

He took off the crown on his head and put it on my own. "You are the queen of my life. I don't care if I have to give up this kingdom and everything else that's in it. It's you that I want."

I could not help but cry again. This time, it was from happiness. He just said that he wanted me and that I made him happy! He closed the space between us and our lips touched. Suddenly, nothing else mattered. There were no birds chirping, no wolves howling, no waters rushing, no leaves rustling. The whole world vanished around us. It was just him and me and the kiss we were sharing.

We continued for a few minutes, finally stopping to catch our breath. I felt him shudder as he sat on the ground beneath us. He then held me with his arms, draping me over his body.

"Did I do that to you?" I asked, surprised.

"Yes," he admitted. "You made me faint."

"Wow!" I sighed in amazement. "Take it easy."

I looked away to hide my emotions from him. I was still feeling amazed that I made him faint! If there was one thing I realized, my kiss with Prince Edward was the best one I ever had. His effect on me was like a heroin to a heroin addict. He was like a powerful drug. The more time I spent with him, the more I craved his presence. He looked at me in the eyes before kissing me on my neck. I lost my train of thought as I had forgotten everything else around me.

"Why were you so worried again?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said, my brain still completely befuddled. "You tell me."

Prince Edward kissed me on the lips this time. It was full of passion, desire and desperation. I felt like I was in heaven, swimming in the sea of clouds. There was nothing else I would rather do than to kiss him. He was my paradise on hell, my heaven on earth and my happiness in the land full of sorrow.

We continued as we were, kissing and embracing, until it was almost twilight. I was pretty sure that Prince Edward's legs were numb as I had been sitting on them for a while. I leaned on him and we stared at each other. When my brain began working, I remembered that my prince had a fiancée that he needed to break up with.

"What are you going to do with Tanya?" I asked.

"I would have to call off the wedding," he said. "The marriage was arranged generations before all of us were born, at the time when I have not even met you. It was no use getting married to someone if you're not the one waiting for me at the altar."

I woke up from the wonderful dream that moment feeling blissful. Looking up at the bedside clock at the night stand, I saw that it was only three in the morning. I felt the excitement enveloping my body so I decided to head outside and jog.

I changed into my sweats and rubber shoes. As soon as I was dressed, I paced my steps and headed down stairs to go outside. A huge burst of energy coursed through my body making me feel excited yet blissful at the same time. With a smile on my face, I reflected on my dreams. My dream lover would be the death of me.

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What do you think? R & R


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry for the late update. Life happens. December would be my free time but the last week of November, early December is when every deadline is there: finals, final projects, final presentations, etc. No worries. I've written it already. I just want to revise it a few more times before I post it here.

Here's Edward! But then again you know that from the title already. Oh, well. I would let you read it. Just let me say the disclaimers. :-)

Twilight and anything related to it is a property of Stephenie Meyer. I'm just using it for my amusement. Nevertheless, it doesn't give you permission to copy this. It's my original creation with the exception of the name. So, do not post it unless you have my expressed written consent. Otherwise, I'm going to have Jane hunt you down and torture you before sending you to the Volturi.

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**Chapter 6: Edward in the Mist**

Grabbing a flashlight, I left the house to jog. I was eager to start but I did not want to wake them up. They were probably still having good dreams like me a few moments ago. _Let them have a good night's sleep_, I thought_. _Meanwhile, I wanted to go and explore the Cullen land as an exercise.

My father had given me countless warnings about going alone to the woods at night but I usually paid no attention to it. He had always said that animals come out at night to feed and added that there are more mountain lions and bears than any time of the day. I tended to shrug it off since I always snuck out of my window a few hours after his spiel. Running at night as I explored the woods was exhilarating. It was the perfect time to see a deer that would otherwise be shy to come out during the day. In fact, I enjoyed looking at these creatures so much that it had become my habit to go to the woods almost every night.

I started jogging lightly as I headed to the woods. Armed with a flashlight, I watched where I was going, being extra vigilant to look for animals. As I ran, the fresh cold air was meeting me at my face while the wet ground caused my sneakers to make a squishing sound. The forest was beautiful. Everywhere I go, I found oak, maple, sequoia and other trees I did not know the name of. Even though it was too dark for me to see their color, they looked majestic as they stood their ground. I did my best to ignore them in order to pay attention to where I was going. I took off running and deeply breathed in the crisp morning air that had always left me feeling euphoric and elated.

"Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale," I said to myself. The cadences of my breath were enough to sustain me as my heart pumped the much needed blood throughout my body. I imagined my lungs as it got air from nature through the trees and back to me, sustaining my life. The scenery reminded me of the old poems. Whoever thought that the forest at night was full of evil creatures clearly did not appreciate its beauty. It looked very mysterious yet inviting at the same time; it was like the forest where Snow White ended up finding the dwarves. I took in the beauty around me and continued my exploration while I played make believe.

Finally, I found myself stopping as I approached a majestic meadow. A waterfall would make this meadow perfect but even then this place was beautiful. This place just took my breath away. The tall trees surrounding this paradise made it feel like it was on the world of its own. Seemingly untouched by what seemed like hundreds, maybe even thousands of years, this vast beauty was the best that the world could offer. I thought of this place as my last paradise on earth.

It was still dark but the meadow looked very familiar, like I had been here a thousand times before. Although I could only see as far as my flashlight could go, it still captivated me. This was the only place where I felt peaceful. I knew I should be scared since I was alone in the middle of the forest with no one nearby. Yet, it was ironic that I felt safer here than anywhere else. I lied down on the damp grass and looked at the sky where I saw the moon and the stars. When I looked closer I was able to point out the Virgin which everyone called Virgo and the Scale known as Libra. I took a deep breath and exhaled as I wished to call this place my sanctuary. It was hard to explain the deep connection I had at this patch of land. I looked everywhere around me and noticed the tiny flowers that seemed to be glowing.

"I guess these are my own stars," I said jokingly to myself before giving in to my senses.

The scent of the meadow was wonderful. It smelled like lilac but sweeter. I ignored the cold I had been feeling since I knew the source; I lying on a damp ground and had gotten wet. Now was the time to enjoy my new favorite location in peace. Later, I would change my clothes. I guessed I would have to ask Carlisle and Esme for permission to come here as often as possible.

The longer I stayed, the more I felt like I was in paradise. I was alone, and for the first time in my life, I felt free. Suddenly, leaves rustled to the gentle breeze. I closed my eyes to feel it. When I looked up, I found myself in the middle of the fog. I welcomed the mist, and smiled while I imagined being transported from another world, thinking that I belonged somewhere else other than the present day Forks. Despite the haze, I saw myself staring at the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I was staring directly at my prince.

The thick fog that surrounded him allowed me to only see his face. He looked like an apparition from heaven, like a god showing himself to man. I could not help but smile when I caught him looking at me. There were only two possibilities of why I was seeing him right now. First, it must be because I fell asleep in the meadow. I pinched myself just to be sure that everything was not a dream. _Ouch_. When it hurt, I knew that I was awake and believed the next plausible explanation.

I was hallucinating and had somehow conjured him up from my head. My lifetime obsession with him had finally manifested itself to life. He was just a figment of my imagination, my hopes and desires into fruition. I just smiled at myself, thinking that I should enjoy it as long as it lasted. I welcomed the vision knowing that I would rather be mad than to give up on him. He was my drug; the relief from the real world. With him, everything was possible. I smiled as I realized that my mind brought him here. It was playing tricks on me by making me think that my dream lover had crossed over the real world.

"Hi," he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay." I smiled happily. "I actually welcome your presence."

"Would you mind if I lie next to you?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not at all," I answered patting the damp ground next to me. "Here."

My Eros took the spot next to me. "I guess we could not really see anything with the fog," he observed.

"No," I agreed and smiled because I could see him. He was all I needed to look at. "But I wouldn't mind some company. I'm Bella by the way."

"Edward," he introduced himself.

I offered my hand for a hand shake when I saw his facial expression turned into a scowl. "What do I do with this?" came out of his mouth.

"You shake it," I said.

Prince Edward placed one of his hands on mine before shaking it. It did not surprise me when the coldness and the dampness of the fog instead of his hand. However, as I shook his hand, I could not help the tingling down my spine upon his touch. He was just a figment of my imagination after all. What surprised me was how he deviated from it. If he were truly from my mind, he would kiss me senseless, telling me everything would be alright as long as he was with me. Yet, he did not do such a thing. He seemed very cautious with how to treat me. It was like he knew me but he did not know how I would react to his presence.

"Forgive my curiosity but what are you doing here?" I asked. I might as well start to have a conversation with myself while I was at it.

"I was waiting for you to be honest," he replied. "I had been here for one thousand years."

I chuckled. He was just basing what he was saying on my dream. I decided to play along.

"What happened to Tanya then?" I asked.

"Do you not remember anything?" he asked cautiously. "About being stuck in this dimension?"

I shook my head. "No," I admitted. "All I know was I had been dreaming about you all my life. I remember about Tanya because she did appear in my dreams once in a while and your siblings, of course. They are my best friends after all. But no, I know nothing about dimensions."

He sighed and got up only to seat next to me. "This is going to take a while," he said.

"What you said about Tanya was true. She had been my betrothed as it had been a custom for future kings to marry the high priestess," he started.

"I know that already," I commented. "Please talk about the more recent events."

"I met you at the forest," he said and I chuckled remembering exactly what he meant. That was not a dream that you could forget easily. "I was trying to save you from the bear. Not knowing if you were injured, I brought you home so that our healers could look at you.

"Before I knew it, I was falling in love with you," he continued, looking at me intensely.

"Yesterday, I just dreamt about you saying that you love me and that you would take care of Tanya," I said, cutting through the chase.

"Okay. Let's start from there," he said. "After that kiss, I told my parents that I did not want to marry Tanya before making it public."

"You did not properly break up with Tanya?" I asked in shock.

I was beginning to think that this might be the beginning of a nightmare. I looked at his eyes before moving my gaze at his face. That was when I noticed that he was biting his lip. Then, he let out a chuckle before finally laughing.

"I'm serious," I said. "Breaking up is one of the most hurtful things you would have to go through so you should have the decency to do it. Why are you still laughing?"

"Oh, Bella," he began before hugging me. I found myself enveloped in cold damp air that made me feel elated. It was like the morning breeze caressing me with sweet serenade. It was both comforting and refreshing at the same time.

"I already broke it off with Tanya before you ran off to the forest," he explained. "I was going to explain myself at the time but you did not want to listen. Do you really think I would let myself be involved with the person I love the most without making it right first?"

I shook my head and smiled. I looked at him directly and gasped as I saw him shimmer in the air like he was just a projection of some sort. _These are all just make believe_, I thought. He looked like he was about to fade. I wanted to look at him so much that in fear that he would fade away. The night sky was starting to turn grey and I was beginning to see the color of his eyes.

"Then, what happened?" I asked.

"We started dating and then we got engaged," he continued.

"Let me guess, we had our happily ever after," I said. It sounded like a fairy tale to me, something that only my unconscious could come up with.

At this point, Edward shook his head and his expression changed. It was like he was the deliverer of bad news and he did not want to upset me. He stared at me with intensity, his eyes boring in my brown. Then, he took a deep breath and continued.

"No, Bella. Everything ended on our engagement," he said. "You were sent in this dimension minutes after our engagement."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Tanya crashed the party and sent you to this dimension," he explained.

I looked at Edward's eyes and saw the truth in them. So, I nodded and asked, "Is there anything else that I should know?"

Edward nodded. "I had killed someone because of that," he admitted.

I was stunned with his revelation. "Can you tell me what happened?"

Edward leaned into his side and looked somewhere far. "My sisters helped you get ready for your birthday. You hated it when they dressed you up. Then, once you came down the stairs, we started dancing. In the middle of the dance, I proposed to you. Everybody was quite happy then until Tanya came a few minutes later. She sent you to another dimension as a vendetta. I was so distraught that I did not realize I killed Tanya with my hands. Because I am their son, my parents made me leave the castle to sort things out," he said.

"But why would they do that? Aren't they the king and queen?" I asked.

Edward nodded. "They are but they are the executioners of justice but they do not make the rules. They are not even the ones to decide whether I was innocent or guilty. In events like those, it would be the jury that would judge me. My parents made me leave so that they could figure out a way to get me out of the mess I put myself into. That was when I searched for someone to send me to your dimension. When I found her, she said that she could do it but there was a catch. I needed to turn myself into a fog so that I could easily pass through the barrier between the two dimensions. Of course, I agreed with her and made me part of the fog," he continued.

I listened to him in amazement as I stared into his eyes; he returned my gaze, his green looking at my brown. In there was a hint of darkness as if he seemed to be hesitant about something. But I could not help but truly look at him for the first time. Would I accept him even if he killed someone? Yes, I would accept him even if he murdered hundreds of people. How could I not? He was a part of me after all.

I approached him closer and held out my arms. Then, I enveloped him into a big hug. I could not help but gasp in amazement. I felt a floating in the air as I hugged the damp air in front of me. I was in cloud nine. He felt refreshing yet tender at the same time like a gentle breeze. He smelled like the outdoors but with a touch of lilac like the woods around us. I inhaled his scent again deeply because I could not get enough of him.

"It's okay, Edward," I said. "You did not mean to do it."

"But Bella, I just said I killed someone," he argued.

"I know but I will not hold it against you. You did it when you went temporarily insane," I explained feeling the irony of the statement.

Edward started sobbing but instead of having tears, it just shook his appearance making him more ghostly than he already was. It pained me to see that he was in so much pain.

"Ssshhh," I hissed doing my best to comfort him.

"Thank you so much," he said, giving me a kiss on the lips as he slowly faded at the same time the fog was clearing.

"I'll see you soon," I whispered under my breath.

When the fog actually vanished, Edward disappeared with it. Lingering from his absence, it took me a while to see the meadow for how beautiful it truly was. The grass was in the lively shade of green and was wet from the morning dew. Everywhere I looked, there were tiny flowers in different assortment of colors. This was how I imagined Eden would look like so I settled to call this my little piece of heaven. The sun was shining down on it, like it was a spotlight and the meadow was the stage. It was perfect. I decided to stay for a few minutes when I realized that it must be past seven.

I went back at the Cullen running, the wet grass making a squishing sound as it came into contact with my shoes. The big tall trees everywhere prevented me from going running in a straight line and forced me to run in a zigzag pattern just to get back to the Cullen house. I also had to watch out for the roots from the trees that might accidentally trip me. Thankfully, I managed to stay upright the whole time. I felt adrenalin rush as my heart began pounding harder than it usually did bringing extra energy to my legs. Gasping for air, I pushed harder and ran faster than my current pace. Never had I experience such a thrill from my morning excursions. I should do it more often.

As I ran, I thought of Edward. I wanted him to be real but I knew that he was just the culmination of my hidden desires. He was my ideal lover who most likely did not exist. I wanted to believe that he became a fog just for me but there was no way that someone could turn himself or herself into the vapor. Then, I realized that it must be because I was telling myself that just like the mist, he would easily disappear. I welcomed him even if it meant that I was losing my sanity. I would not want to get help at all in fear that I would lose him if I did. I wanted him in my meaningless life, anytime at any form, anywhere. He was like my North Star. I needed to look at him to guide me where I was going. He needed to remain a secret since I would surely get sent to a mental institution if he did not stay that way.

Finally, I saw the end of the forest, as the ray of sunlight finally reached the ground. This was a far cry from the few spots of sunshine that managed to slip through the trees when I started. I could finally see the Cullen home from here before it came into full view. The well kept lawn was vividly accepting the sun. The flowers, bright and colorful, made the house look like it was in a magazine. Still running, I eventually reached the house and saw Alice waiting for me outside.

Alice looked anxious, frantic and messier than usual. She was wearing a pajama she had worn since last night. Her hair was sticking out everywhere and there were wet blotches on her face. Her eyes turned into slits when she saw me.

"Where have you been?" she asked with edginess in her voice.

"Exploring your environment. I took a walk," I answered.

Alice took a deep breath and then she was quiet. Too quiet. It looked like I was in the eye of the storm—the place where everything was suddenly calm before all hell would break lose.

"Rose! Bella came back," Alice shouted.

Rosalie looked as messy as Alice. She was wearing a robe and she looked not much better. Her hair looked like a bird's nest and she looked very angry.

"Where have you been, Bella? Everyone is worried about you," Rose said. She grabbed me a little more forceful than usual by the hand before dragging me inside the house and up the stairs where both Carlisle and Esme are waiting.

"No need to call a search party," Rose said. "Bella is here."

Both Carlisle and Esme let out a sigh of relief. Then, they stood up and gave me a hug. It was unusual to see my second parents looked so anxious. They were normally calm and collected. I had never seen them this way.

"Don't you ever leave us like that again," Esme said. "We're so worried about you. What do you think we'll say to Renee if something happened to you?"

Esme sounded exactly like a mother. I doubted that my mother would be more worried than her. It was when Carlisle stood up that I realized the seriousness of the matter. He had a stern expression just like my father when I did something he did not like.

"Next time you go somewhere and you're in our care, tell us. Leave a note. That way, we won't get worried," he said. "Normally, we would do something to punish you but we can't do that now, can we?"

I gulped and looked down my shoes. I felt like a kid who did something terribly wrong. It would be better to face the wrath of my mother and my father than Esme and Carlisle. These two rarely get mad. I desperately wanted to correct the situation. I guessed I should start by apologizing.

"I'm sorry, Esme. I'm sorry, Carlisle. I was just exploring the property. I went to the woods and found the most beautiful meadow I had ever seen. Is it possible to continue to go there?" I asked. I knew I was in trouble but I could not help but ask. The meadow had a calming effect on me.

"Of course," Esme said. "Just next time, if you ever decide to explore the woods while you're at our house, give us a warning. Don't just go out there before leaving. We called Jasper and Emmett to come here so that they could search for you. We decided to tell your parents that you're missing if you're not back here by eight."

I looked at the clock at the dining room. The small hand was almost pointed at eight but the big hand was pointed at nine. I still had fifteen minutes before they should have called my parents. I thanked God for my luck.

"Did you like it?" she asked. "The meadow, I mean."

"Yes," I said, smiling. "That place had the most beautiful scenery I had ever seen. No need for me to take a vacation. I could just go here whenever I'm stressed out and relax on your backyard."

"I see," Esme said. She smiled at me but her grin did not quite reach her eyes. "Just don't scare us like that again next time."

Esme and Carlisle took one look at me and then left the room. Never had I felt so badly in my life since the time I was ten and broke my mother's favorite vase. They seemed to bring the little child out of me instead of a teenager trying to rebel. I made a mental note to myself not to do anything that would get them to worry to do all of us a favor. Me feeling powerful and them, not making me feel guilty.

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Now, for the big question. Is Edward real? Please, R&R. I gratefully appreciate it.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: As I said in my post, I've been frustrated to how this is turning out. I fear that if I keep on changing it, that I won't be able to put it here. So I decided that for the later chapters (Chapter 7 until the epilogue) that I would post it raw. I feel like abandoning the story but since I already finished the whole thing, I'm just going to post it raw. That way, I would finish the story even though I'm not completely satisfied with it.

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Chapter 7

I went back to my newfound Eden. I realized that although I would not be alone, the feeling of solitude she felt would be comparable to the one she felt whenever she was in her truck. The only difference was while my truck was running, I would be at the meadow, lying still on the grass underneath her feet.

Reality hit me when I realized that the green-eyed Adonis was staring at me. Although his clothes had been out of style for a few centuries, he looked like he belonged with the gods of Olympus and not the mere mortals. He looked out of this world, as if he was not made for it but in places where myths and legends exists.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Edward said.

Bella nodded. "Although I was shocked. I don't get to meet nonhumans everyday."

"If you think about it," Edward paused. "You are not exactly a different creature from me."

I chuckled. "Oh, yeah," I said sarcastically. "I am made up of carbon. You're made up of 99% water with dust particles. Oh, I forgot to mention that you're just a ball of energy."

Edward looked at me in disbelief. "Never had I heard of anything that you had been talking about," he pointed out.

"You have gotta be kidding me," I said. "Tell me, do you know Einstein?"

"Nope."

"Shakespeare."

"Nope."

"Chaucer."

"Haven't heard of him."

"William the Conqueror."

"Nope."

"Hmmm…" I muttered as I thought. "Who was the last time you heard when you got here?"

"I don't know. I haven't left this area for a long time," Edward said.

"You, my friend, needed to be taught of what happened in the past one thousand years or so. I can't believe I've met anyone who haven't heard of Shakespeare," I mused.

"Who's Shakespeare?" Edward asked.

"A really really famous writer. I would better update them for you," I said.

"I would not want to give you my books since I would have to use them for school. How about everyday I come here and talk to you about the famous people that you failed to remember even though you might be the oldest person in history?" I offered.

"I would appreciate it. Thank you, Bella," Edward said.

I was doing my research at the library. I was determined to keep Edward informed of everything that happened for the past one thousand years or so.

"Are you doing a big research?" Alice asked. She noticed that I was at the library too much.

"Kinda," I answered. "I'm helping a friend who did not know anything about history at all."

"How bad?" Alice asked.

"He doesn't know Shakespeare," I explained.

"Honey, not everyone knows about Shakespeare," Alice defended.

"He did not know Hitler at all," I said back. "And Einstein, and Aristotle, and Edison."

"I see your point," Alice said. "Why don't you ask Jasper to teach your friend?"

"Because, I'm the only person who could do this," I answered. Not to mention that Jasper might freak out if the person he was tutoring became suddenly invisible through no fault of his own.

"So, you're determined to teach this person?"Alice asked.

"Yes," I answered. "It's just that I seem to find him likeable."

"You find him likeable?" Alice asked and I answered with a nod. "In what way?"

"He had the most amazing green eyes I could find," I answered. "Also, he doesn't seem so full of himself unlike other guys. He seems very down-to-earth and he seems real—unlike me."

"Oh, Bella! Don't tell me you've fallen in love of the guy," Alice said with concern in her voice.

"I don't love him. I like him. I'm very fond of him," I said. "Love is a strong term. I don't want to use it lightly.

"So you like him?" She asked and I nodded. "You'll love him soon enough."

"How?" I asked. "I don't even know him that well."

"First of all, you don't personally tutor someone. If you do, you don't need to do a lot of research to teach them," Alice said. "You must have seen something in him that makes you want to go the extra mile to help him."

"Maybe," I said. I did not mention that I met this fog-sort-of-guy who did not know anything about modern civilization. She would think that I might be losing it. "But I should be the one to teach him."

"I see," Alice asked. "Did you find out the secret that you have to hide?"

Alice was referring to our old sleepover a few months back. I looked at her and nodded. "I think I knew now."

And so, I left Alice and school early. Once the bell rang, I did the fastest change possible and I hopped into my truck before everyone else. It seemed like I had a power of super speed before or during the final bell.

I headed to the meadow. With magazines and books at hand, I made my way through the forest until I found our spot. I found him sitting near a tree, his skin translucent as the thin layer of fog prevented anything from happening.

"To what pleasure do I owe you?" he asked.

"This," I answered. I held out the books that I was holding.

"What are those for?"

"These are history books," I said. "They tell you everything that had happened for the past eight hundred years or so. I explained."

"These books could talk?" Edward asked incredulously.

"No," I answered. "You have to read the words."

So, I began explaining to him famous peoples in history. I mentioned to him Julius Caesar. He said that he had heard of him before. So, based on my estimates, he would have lived more than two thousand years. Caesar happened around Jesus' time. Give or take one hundred year or two.

We talked about everything. Aside talking the historic figures, we also talked about historic events. Not knowing anything that had been going on must be a lot to digest. It seemed that he did not track time correctly too. He thought it was only a thousand years since he got here but it turned out that he had been here for more than two thousand years.

We continued our routine. Everyday, I would teach him how things went our way or the way that happened. He, on the other hand, had to take everything in by listening to me. He said that he enjoyed listening to my stories.

"Edward," I said. "Why are you trying to butter me up?"

"What does that mean?" he asked. Poor Edward. He's so innocent.

"It means that whoever was in charge, you're giving them a lot of compliment so that things would go your way," I explained.

"So, you mean like the time when mother left cookie from the cookie jar and she said that if we gave her a hug or a kiss, we would get what's inside?" He tried to wrap his mind around it. I did not know if he was understanding me at all.

"Yes," I answered. "Something like that. Although your cookie-analogy shouldn't happen to us since we're now grown ups," I pointed out with a smile.

"Of course, we are, love," Edward said. It's a little bit different now that he explained it to me that way. "We no longer wanted the cookies. We wanted something else."

We paused for a moment and looked at the horizon. Everything was turning orange.

"Edward," I called.

"Yes?"

"I have to go," I said.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, I will," I answered.

"I'll be waiting," he said. He kissed me on the cheek and said, "Thank you."

The damp coldness in my cheek felt tingling my spine. It must have meant that we could love someone who was different than us: body, mind and soul. Only Edward would be the love of my life like that.

I was determined to get to know him. I would have to find out what happened to his world that made him come here in ours. I would listen with what he had to say to me and digest it the way that he had been digesting what I had been telling him.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: As I said before, I would be posting the remaining chapters in raw. I'm getting frustrated because even though I have loved this story, it's the first one I have ever written. I feel like it's not reflecting me as a writer anymore and that my priority have shifted. Still, I would love to post it as a memorabilia as my starting point.

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Chapter 8

I was at the library choosing Edward's books. Nothing could be more daunting than the task at hand. What should you do when someone that you had grown quite fond of needed help learning the things that you had learned as a child? How would you reach out to him and help him?

I picked the books with utmost care. Edward needed something he would enjoy. I was walking at the aisle of books in the library, quickly browsing to the subjects and deciding whether or not I should borrow from them. History, maybe—especially politics. However, he could not read the Phoenix Alphabet since he had separated himself from civilization—suffering from at least a thousand years of isolation. He might be familiar with hieroglyphics but he did not know anything about our current writing system. And with that, Edward's knowledge was almost obsolete. He most likely believed that the earth was flat. I needed to keep him up to date with every discovery, history and belief that he missed on his years of being alone.

I looked into the music section. Edward would definitely enjoy something here. After all, the music is a way to everyone's soul. Everyone enjoyed listening to some type of music or another. I chose music that was not too loud. I stuck with the classics. I needed to get him accustomed to the "old" first before going to the modern. He might not like rock since most people that grew up to classical music did not really enjoy rock.

I was going through the books at random, wondering how to find the books for my Edward. Would he wanted to enjoy such things as foreign relations? Did the concept even occurred to him? Surely, he was a prince so he must have known something about it.

I was now at the top floor of the library, looking at the computer. I searched the internet to see what might be type of tools they had a thousand years ago. Apparently they were for useful things. The bed doubled as clothing hence the toga fashion. Also they seemed to be doing a lot of manual work. People were scrubbing the floors back then since they did not have a vacuum cleaner. People washing the utensils that had gotten obsolete. We knew about the water jar but what other tools did they use for eating? Did they eat with their bare hands? Do they use chopsticks? These things are those that I could not answer.

My mission when I to the library was to find things for Edward. Instead, I had a lot of questions when I get back to him. Who knew that going through things had ignited my curiosity to him? I looked at the entire library and retraced my journey. I had barely known Edward and yet I was already close to him. He seemed to know how to soothe my soul. Yet how could he? He was nothing, if not sort of a miracle.

I found myself heading toward the counter. I issued my library card and checked out the books. These books were like treasures in my hands, each one unique in its own way. A fat one, a thin one, a colorful one, a very illustrative one but they all had knowledge to impart. They would were more precious than gold for knowledge never loses value.

"Hi, Bella!" the librarian said. "It seemed to me that you had a lot of children's books."

"Yes," I answered. "I'm helping a friend learn how to read."

"Hhhmmm…" the librarian paused for a thought. "If you want there on that counter is a tool to help people learn how to read. Just bring it here and I'll check it out for you."

"Thank you, Mrs. Cope," I said.

"No problem." She answered. "Tell me how it went, okay?"

"Okay." And with that, I left.

When I got home, I was really excited with what I found. Edward would love all of these. History, stories and various things about geography, even science. I decided to broaden my horizon and choose a lot of the books that Edward might enjoy. Hopefully, he will appreciate what I had done to him.

"You'll be fine," Alice said appearing out of nowhere.

"How are you sure about that?" I asked.

"You put your heart into it," she said. "Whatever your reason, you're fine. I know you. If you can excel on things that you do half-heartedly, how do you think you'd do when you give your sweat and blood to these things that matter to you?"

Alice's realization hit me. I was giving my heart on to simple tasks such as choosing a book to read to my modern day-illiterate student. Even so, I would take these books and choose them with utmost care.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I feel like abandoning this story. However, since I have finished the first draft for the entire thing, I decided to post it raw.

* * *

Chapter 9

I knew should never have been here because it was too cold. Yet here I was, standing in the meadow in the middle of November. I could not find it in myself to stay away knowing that someone would be here all alone and lonely. Edward would here, waiting for me. So, I pulled my jacket tighter and made my way across the meadow. I found myself sad that the flowers were gone. It was now replaced with wilting leaves of the trees that were everywhere. Armed with my books, I made my way to it. He was nowhere in sight yet it was okay since there was no fog. Looking like a lunatic, I called him even though I would be talking to someone I could not see.

"Edward!" I called. "Are you here?"

"Hi!" Edward greeted even though he was nowhere in sight.

I felt that there was a slightly different pressure in my neck. I turned to my left, thinking that he must be there. I felt that it was one of those days where I would be talking to the air around me.

I sat myself in the ground carpeted with leaves. There was no longer grass, for it was too cold for it to survive. Yet unlike the grass, I was not here for the weather. I was here to think and to enjoy some myself from the solitude.

I reached out to my bag and grabbed a book and called for Edward to take a look. It was a children's book since I was teaching him how to read and write. He had been here for a thousand years so a lot of the things he knew no longer applied. He needed to relearn everything, starting with the easy ones first. I held the book for him and he began reading it.

"Once upon a time," he started.

It was "Goldilocks and the Three Bears." Although it was not my favorite book, I wanted him to read the same stories I did as a child. I wanted him to learn about Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty. I knew that most of them are princess stories but they were reminiscent of my childhood.

"Bella," Edward began. "Why do we keep on reading these stories?"

"Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Snow White were the things we read to children to help them fall asleep," I answered. "I know they sounded corny but I wanted you to imagine what it was like growing up on our time."

"There was no need," Edward pointed out. "I was a prince before I became like this. I did save someone from a bear using bow and arrow."

I could not help the smile that found its way to my face. Edward reminded me about my dreams.

"So, what do we say if we change and start reading something else besides these fairy tales?" he asked. "I wanted to learn Algefra and stuff like that."

"First of all, it's Algebra," I said. "Second, you need to master how to write in this language first before I teach you things like that."

"Seriously?" he asked and I nodded. "What for?"

"So that you can read the problem on your own," I pointed out. "You're right. Let's change these fairy tales. You're too advanced for them for now."

I rummaged through my backpack which carried children's books. I found one about American Revolution.

"Seriously?" Edward asked. All I could do was nod.

I was shocked when I saw the book float in front of me.

"Edward," I called. "I did not know that you could do that."

"Oh, this?" he reflected. The book started wiggling into thin air. "I had been practicing since I met you. I started with small things like leaves and flowers. Then, I went on with branches. This is the first time I did it with books so I have yet to master turning the pages."

He started reading aloud. It fascinated me how this person could have gone without getting in touch with the civilization for so long. I made it my personal mission to keep him up to date with what happened for the last one thousand years that he missed.

I watched the floating book in awe as he read the books with his velvety voice. Hitler and Stalin seemed to be so much more fascinating coming from the lips of this man. I was doing what I could to teach him everything a high school student should know. One thousand years was a very long time.

"What were you thinking?" he asked, stopping from his reading. He was reading about Elizabeth the Great.

"How did you feel like waiting for the person you love for a thousand years?" I asked.

"It was a long wait, I had to admit," he said. "But I still have faith in us. I believe that someday, I would find her again."

"What about the fact that it would be hard for her to see you?" I asked curiously.

"It does not bother me," he said. "After all, you're still here even though you cannot see me most of the time. I think it would be hard at first but we'll make it work out."

A pain radiated from my chest when he said that. Then, tears were beginning to form in my eyes. I held that, knowing that I could not let him see me like this.

"Would you do me a favor?" I asked. My voice sounded a little shaky. "Please tell me how it went when you find her."

"Of course, Bella," Edward chuckled. "She still doesn't realize what's going on but she'll know when the time is right."

We took a break from reading and asked questions about ourselves. I wanted to know more about him. I wanted to know what Edward was like before he became part of the fog.

"What are your favorites?" I asked.

"Favorite what?" he asked back.

"Music, stories, color, you know, stuff like that."

"Favorite music... We only listen to a harp back in my castle. Favorite stories, from what you had given me, it's a tie between Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Little Red Riding Hood," he answered.

"Because of the wolf?" I asked.

"No, because of the woodsman. He saved little red from the wolf," he said.

"What about color?" I asked.

"Brown," he said.

"Bella, would you mind answering a question?" he asked.

"Sure. What would it be?" I encouraged him.

"In my current state…" he paused before continuing, "would you consider dating me even if I'm like this?"

"Silly Edward," I said. "Your current state does not matter to me. In fact, I consider us as friends ever since we met."

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Tell me about your friends. I would like to know them better," he said.

"I have four best friends. They are two sets of siblings and the one set of siblings paired with the other," I said.

"Sounds like my siblings," Edward commented. "They were married to a pair of siblings before. I, on the other hand, decided to choose someone outside their group."

"Really?" I asked. "That's kinda funny."

"I think so too. They love one another too so if it works out with them, I'm happy. Now, tell me about your friends. I wanted to know them," he said.

"Alice is the smallest of the group but she is the liveliest. I always say that what she lacks in height, she makes up with her bubbliness.

"Alice is dating Jasper since forever. He, on the other hand, is really Alice's opposite. He seemed to be very calm especially when he's planning on something. He's quite the master of strategies of the group. Of course, they balance each other out.

"Rosalie is really beautiful. Some people would say that she is cold but she is just misunderstood. She is very protective nature of us. We call her our mother.

"Emmett is always the goofball. He is a size of a bear but he acts like a little kid. He always cracks jokes and would do what he can to make me laugh," I said with a smug look on my face.

Edward seemed to enjoy listening about my friends. He was silent the whole time but the whole time and when I was done talking about them, he asked more questions. He asked some of my experiences with them like the things we got ourselves into.

I went back home when the sun turned orange. I was a little sad, wishing that I could stay there forever. I headed back from where I came. I trudged through the layers of leaves carrying the backpack full of books on my bag. When I reached my car, the sky was beginning to turn indigo. I reached home in time, almost missing the family dinner.

"Bella, where have you been?" My mother asked.

"I was helping a friend to read," I answered. "I forgot about the time."

"Next time, be sure to cook for us," my father said. "We were starving."

"Do you like some pizza?" my mother asked.

"Yes, please," I said.

I ate my pizza in silence. They had better learn to cook for themselves from now on.


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: As I had been saying, the remaining chapters would be posted raw. This is the first story I had ever written, the one that made me realize my passion. In a way, it holds a special place in my heart. It was when I discovered that I could create something so original that I could call it my own.

* * *

Chapter 10

I was reading Pride and Prejudice, my one of my favorite classics in the meadow. I was delighted that it was foggy enough to see Edward. There was a wonder in his face, as if he was trying to study something. He just finished reading Cinderella for the fifteenth time. By now he had memorized the story by heart. He went over to read something else, I did not know which one. When he turned around, I saw that he was reading Pride and Prejudice, the cliff notes version.

"Edward, why are you reading the cliff notes version?" I asked.

"I just got curious with what you're reading. I always notice that you're either reading that, or Wuthering Heights, or Romeo and Juliet. I just want to understand why you're reading that," he explained.

"I just love the story," I told him.

"What's so great about that? It's all about a bunch of people who were racing off to find a husband," he continued.

"This," I said holding the book in front of him, "Is about finding a person who would accept you despite your faults and shortcomings. Did you ever imagine finding someone that you could love like that?"

Edward looked far away, his eyes seemed to be filled with memories of old. "I have," he whispered.

"She was a commoner and I was a prince. Of course, that has everything going on against it. Plus, I had a betrothed so being with her was out of the question. I did everything I could to fight my feelings but in the end, I could not help it. The next thing I knew, I was finding ways to see her. My feelings grew so strong that I realized I have to cancel my engagement. It was arranged to begin with anyway. I still love her though," Edward said.

My heart felt a pang of sorrow knowing that this man in front of me has loved that woman. Tears were about to rain down from my eyes but I decided to focus on something else to prevent them from falling. I looked at the sky, and thought about the years that Edward spent in isolation. Surely, he needed to see how the world transformed from the ones that he was from.

"What are you thinking?" he asked.

"I was thinking of how isolated you are," I answered. "You choosing to be in that state has caused you to be isolated from everybody."

He just nodded at me without regret on his emotions. I took a step further to get to the point.

"I was wondering if you would like to go on a field trip with me," I told him. "You have not seen anything in the world for the past millennium or so."

"But Bella, are you going to drag me there when there's light? People could see through me, thinking that I was a ghost," Edward said worriedly.

"This Sunday is going to be pretty sunny. There would also be no fog in sight. So, I was thinking if you and I could go there even though you would be invisible," I replied.

"I'd love to. I can't wait," he said. "Where exactly are you taking me?"

"Port Angeles," I answered. "It's the closest thing that we have to a modern civilization."

I made it all the way home with a smile on my face. I would be going to Port Angeles with Edward. I was on a bliss, thinking that I would spend it with my new-found friend. I asked permission to my parents, telling them that I would go there by myself to look for a book. I did not need to tell them that I was with someone who would go completely invisible tomorrow for two reasons. First, they would think I'm insane if I told them the truth. Second, they might not let me if I said that I would go there with a boy who could pass for an imaginary friend.

When Edward and I went to Port Angeles, he was full of questions regarding everything.

We went to a shop that sold cell phones. He asked me what those were. I explained to him the functions of the cell phone.

"You mean to tell me that with that little thing, I could call anyone anywhere in the world?" he asked.

"In theory," I said. "Really, it depends on whether or not you have service bars. Of course, you do have to worry about extra charge if you decided to call anywhere you did not initially pay for."

"But still, you could call anyone anywhere in the world with that thing?" he asked.

"Yes," I replied.

Edward paused, seeming to digest his awe.

"Wow!" he said. "Never had I imagined that I would see the day where I could use a simple device to call someone."

"So, what was it like back then?" I asked, curious with how the world works on his time.

"Most people relied on gossip," he said. "We nobles carry our own messengers. So, they tend to gather the news for us. Then, if we wanted to say something to the royalty from another kingdom, we would call them and they would send their messengers back to keep our communication constant."

"So, you mean to tell me that you won't get the news for days at a time?" I asked wanting for clarification.

"Yes," he said. "Sometimes even weeks at a time."

"So, what do you want to do now?" I asked. "This is your field trip."

Suddenly, Edward became fascinated with the theater in front of him. He saw it and was curious with it.

"So, you still have theaters?" he asked.

"Yes, but it's not what you think," I said.

"I'm sure I'll handle it," he said. "Let's watch."

I hesitantly grabbed his hand and paid for my ticket to get inside. Inside, I made him sat next to me and put my purse on his lap. That would keep the others from sitting beside me. Once the screen turned on, Edward was curious.

I saw fascination in his eyes as people appeared in the big screens. He thought that there was only real people in the theater. He did not realize that the how much the world has changed since then.

Once the movie had finished, I asked him what he thought of that.

"It's fascinating, actually," he said. "Never had I thought of seeing a theater without actual actors on it."

I showed him the city some more. I paid my lunch with credit card; he could not eat anything. When I held out the plastic, he got curious with what was on my hand.

"What is that?" he asked.

"This?" I asked back, holding the car in front of me. "It's a credit card. We used it to pay for things that we bought."

"How does it work?" he asked.

"Well, the bank would lend you money. You would be allowed to spend it provided that you pay it all back or a portion of it at the end of the month," I explained.

"So, there are sets of rules to follow when using this thing?" he pointed out to the credit card. "But otherwise you could use it as a form of payment."

"Yes," I said while nodding.

I dragged him to the places where tourists usually gather. I showed him the ocean, and let him soak in the scenery around us. Although he could neither feel the gentle breeze from the air nor the warmth as sunlight hits the skin, he could see the clear cloudless sky and the blue ocean with white swirling foams as waves went back and forth.

"The world truly has changed a lot for a century," he said, with a pain on his voice.

"Yes," I repeated. "The world had change. I want to expose you to the world. It's not good for you to be isolated that you do not know what's going on."

I spent the entire afternoon dragging him everywhere. We went to an amusement park, a clothing store and the library. When I looked back, I realized that he was not behind me.

"Edward," I whispered, retracing my steps. "Edward."

I kept on calling his name but he was nowhere to be found. Finally, I went to the park where we had been before.

"Edward," I whispered.

"Here," he answered.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Just enjoying the surroundings," he answered. "I guess I lost track of time looking at people."

I leaned my back on the nearby tree in front of me. I realized why he was enjoying the view.

"Bella," Edward called.

"Yes?"

"Do you like to be my girlfriend?" he asked.

I was suddenly at a loss with what to do. Edward loved someone else.

"Yes," I said with pain in my heart.

"Bella, I love you," he told me.

"What about that person you turned yourself into fog for?"

"That would be you," he answered. "A long time ago, before you were born into this life, you were a commoner. I have loved you so much that I asked to marry you. Finally, my ex-fiance sent you to another dimension. I followed you here, knowing that you might be reincarnated and not know me at all."

What he said dawned on me. I had always dreamed that I was a commoner in love with a prince. I realized that I was his Bella and he was my Edward.

"You would never lose me," he said.

And with that, I nodded.

"Edward," I said. "May I kiss you?"

"Yes," he said.

I felt something cold and damp touched my lips. I closed my eyes feeling the mist that was my Edward.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: The first story that I had first written that I intended to post raw (at least the remaining chapter anyway). I hate the idea of abandoning my story without sharing it to the world. It is the first one so I intend to post everything just like I had intended from the beginning.

* * *

Chapter 11

I realized that my new routine had changed since I met Edward. I no longer workout three times a week, preferring to walk from my car to my meadow instead. I spent less time cooking but more time at the library borrowing children's books to accommodate Edward's knowledge. I still read but my routine has completely changed. Edward is the reason for that change.

Things were not progressing quickly between Edward and me. We were happy to be with each other and immensely enjoyed each other's company. However, as far as the physical contact goes, our closest physical contact was at the park that day, when he kissed me on my lips.

There are changes visible in me. Although my new workout very much made up for my lost exercise routine, my friends thought that I had a more pleasant demeanor. I was not as angst-ridden as I was before. They saw me with a smile on my face almost everyday.

Emmett asked me if I was dating someone. I told him I'm not, at least nobody that he could see. He was intrigued by my answer and he kept on asking me about it. Not a day went by without his questioning tactics.

Jasper was a little bit different. He let his eyes do the observing and let me proceed in peace. Of course, it didn't mean that he did not ask me questions; he is not as tactless as Emmett. He would test the waters by asking me if I was ready to talk about it and that he would listen if I would.

Both Rose and Alice looked at me with the knowing look in their eyes. There was no getting around them. They knew that there was a man involve. They just didn't know how serious it was.

I realized that I was enjoying my school more. It seemed that my life had a purpose, no matter how it was another being whom I had trouble seeing sometimes, literally. I found the reason why I was not myself. I did not have a purpose in living my life.

Lately I had been feeling giddy, reminiscent of Tom Cruise who jumped up and down the couch. However, I still had self-control and thought I would look ridiculous doing that. I understood how happy he was; I was just not keen at showing at other people.

Do not get me wrong. I wanted to tell the whole world that I found the man of my dreams but I had nobody to show him with. But who would believe me if I said that my boyfriend was part of the fog? They might misunderstood me and would think that he was always absent and not caring about me at all. People would not understand a not-so-normal relationship.

Lately, I had added something new in my routine. Every night, at around midnight, I would sneak out of my room once I knew that my parents were asleep. Armed with a flashlight, I would get out of my room through the window even though I was wearing my pajamas with bunny sleepers. I would be with Edward at the forest for about an hour. Then, I would convince him to come to my house and be at my bed, just lying there doing nothing. As if part of the routine, he would refuse saying that it would be inappropriate with us to share the same bed. Finally, I would go home and have the best sleep ever despite my obvious deprivation.

It was just a little after midnight and I was with Edward on our special place. It was perfectly foggy and I could see him perfectly as he sat behind me and I leaned on him. Well, I tried to lean on him but I kept on getting through him. He was still transparent, see-through or some texture similar to a ghost. When I tried to caress him, my hand only touched the cold, damp air that was a part of him.

We realized that it was perfect to see each other at midnight. There was a lot of fog and I did not have trouble seeing him. I could definitely see his glorious face. I could finally see the god of a man who was always in this paradise.

"Bella," Edward said.

"Yes, Edward?"

"How do you stand being with me?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"How could you not go insane being with a who had a lot more common with the ghost than with a human?"

"I've never thought of that. I'll tell you when I find out the answer," I playfully told him.

He chuckled. "That might be the day when you would abandon me."

"Nope," I pointed out as I shook my head. "But then, if you looked deeper, you realize that you are still human on the inside."

"Yeah, true," he said. He tried to bring me closer to him so I scooted over not wanting to help him out of his state. "But what would you do if I was actually human?"

"We would not be having this conversation here. I would probably be with you at school all the time."

"Won't your best friends think I stole you from them?"

"No. They can share," I said.

Edward smiled at the thought. We had been like this for quite sometime now. I thought that we were moving such a slow pace that the turtle would beat us in 100-meter-dash. If he was human right now, I would think that he would win the award for being chaste.

I was looking at the clock. It was almost one in the morning.

"Edward, I have to say goodbye," I told him.

"No, not yet," he said with a pout on his lips.

"What can we do?" I asked.

"Well, we could continue doing this," he said.

"Would you be able to sneak into my room and sing me a lullaby?" I hinted.

"I could do that," he answered.

I was feeling so excited that my heart was beating so fast that I did not know if I was about to have a heart attack. I tried hugging Edward but my fingers kept on going through him.

"I'm glad you're coming," I said. "I just wanted to be with you all the time. It's hard to be with you if I have to go so soon,"

"Okay," he said. He hugged me and I felt the coldness and the dampness of his skin.

"Bella, there's something I wanted to try," he said.

"What?"

"Don't move," Edward said.

Edward leaned on me. I closed my eyes as I anticipated the kiss from his cold damp lips. I felt amazing. It was like a massive firework show. I felt like exploding myself. I was on fire.

Taking his hand, I dragged him to my car. I made him sit on the passenger side and rolled down the window. It made me see him better.

We made it to my house. I closed the door and locked it. I hurriedly climbed up the stairs in the most quiet fashion that I could muster. Then, I opened my bedroom door and encouraged him to come in by having my come hither gesture.

Edward made it to the bedroom. I locked the door, knowing that my father would freak out if I brought a guy here, not considering the state that we could never get into a lot of trouble. I called him to sit on my bed. We continued our getting-to-know-you that we started at the meadow.

"What type of music do you like?" I asked.

"I love anything. The sound of birds are the best. Instrumentally, I prefer listening to a harp," he said.

"A harp?" I asked. "Isn't that too ancient?"

"Yes, no. Maybe," he said. "Remember that it has been a long time since I had been back into civilization through you."

"Yeah, I could tell," I answered. "Nobody wears toga anymore. It's like you're always at a play or something."

"Hey, don't tease me," he said. "These clothes were fashionable back in the day. And besides, it's not like I could transform myself and wear other clothes from this time."

"You're right," I said, trying to caress his face. "It was fashionable back in the day. Like more than a thousand years ago."

"Now that you talk about it, I felt decrepit compared to you," he said.

"Don't worry," I said. "I know that you are always young at heart."

"I would play some music right now but I was afraid of waking up my father." I said.

"I just love to be with you," he said.

We hung out until I fell asleep. He stayed with me until dawn, when the fog disappeared.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I am posting the rest of the chapters but I am posting them raw. I want to start a new story, the one that would show my talents.

* * *

Chapter 12

First day of school after winter break, the whole school was buzzing. Everyone was talking about the new student of Forks High School. We heard that his name was James. They said that he was an emancipated minor. We heard that he always got into a lot of trouble and every school that took him in kicked him out. I for one did not bother listening to the nasty rumors. I was a victim of one myself.

"Hey, Bella!" Jessica Stanley called out. "Have you heard of James?"

"Yes, I have," I answered her.

"You know what I think?" Jessica asked. "I think I should go out with James. It would increase my popularity."

"Good luck with that," I said.

"Of course, he might have his eyes on you first," Jessica said. "You are almost everyone's first choice."

"I don't know that," I said with a smile. "You can't be serious."

"I agree with Jessica," Rosalie jumped in. "With the exception of Emmett and Jasper."

"I'm fine with everyone liking Bella," Jessica said. "She never really went after any guy in school so everyone would still be a fair game."

"Well, I don't want to keep the rest of Forks High's male population. Everyone should have their share," I said with a sarcastic grin on my face.

"As long as you remember that Mike is mine," Jessica said.

"Don't worry, Jessica. Mike is all yours," I said. "Does he know it?"

"Hmmph," Jessica pouted before turning back on me and leaving.

"I like your comeback," Rosalie said. "I should've videotaped it and showed it to Alice."

"What happened?" Alice asked as she approached us. "All I could see was Jessica leaving with that ridiculous pout."

"Jessica said that Mike was hers. Bella said of course but asked if he knows it," Rosalie summarized.

"I'm sorry I missed it," Alice said. "Have you heard about this James guy? I heard from those that saw him that he was good looking."

"Blonde hair, blue eyes," Rosalie added. "He reminds me of Newton."

The three of us laughed.

"Yeah. They share eye and hair color," Alice said. "Bella, do you think you would get this guy?"

"Nope," I said with an evil grin. "I am with someone."

"Since when?" Rosalie asked. "How come we did not know about him?"

"Shouldn't we at least get a heads up?" Alice asked. "Tell me, what does he look like? Did you have sex already?"

"He has bronze hair and green eyes. We haven't had sex yet. It's complicated," I said.

"Complicated?" Alice asked. "Is he dating anybody else other than you?"

"Alice!" I screamed mortified. "No."

"Is it a long distance relationship?"

I shook my head.

"Then it's not complicated," Alice concluded smugly.

I just nodded my head. I did not mention that my hand always go through him everytime we tried to touch which complicated our relationship. I would not argue because I love the feeling of his cold and damp touches in my skin. We could not hold each other as close as we wanted. He always go through me.

"When are we gonna meet him?" Alice asked.

"Soon, I hope," I said, looking at both of them.

"I do not want to hide him from you," I said. "It's still a new relationship and we are still in a fragile stage. As soon as we figure everything out, we'll talk to you or I'll let you meet him."

"Whatever," Alice pouted. She looked at me with her puppy dog eyes, the look she knew I could never resist. "You are just embarrassed of us."

"No, I'm not," I said. "Anyway, we have to head to class. We'll talk about this later, okay?"

"Oh, shit! I had the lunatic next," Alice screamed. "Rose, let's hurry."

Alice dragged Rose to their room. In comparison, I walked to my class slowly. It was then that I saw a new face at the crowd. He was good looking blond but he gave me creeps. It must be the way he looked at me like I was a trophy prize of some sort. I looked straight ahead, ignoring the stare following me.

I caught up with Alice at lunch. She warned me about the particular new student of the school.

"I would have to tell you that I am a little bit worried about James," Alice said. "I did my research and found that he had a pretty checkered past. He got arrested twice for underage drinking and it seemed that he can't keep his hands to himself. He tends to get slapped by girls. If he weren't so good looking, you could add sexual assault charges on his record too."

"So I heard," I said.

Rose caught up with us. She just looked at Alice and said, "I would like a more solid proof than that. Those are from the gossips."

"That's simple," she said. "I looked at the research that the featured committee was doing. The record was so bad that they would not feature him at all."

"So, let's make it clear. We stay away from James as far as we could. You guys should not have a problem with that," I said, referring to my best friends' "bodyguards".

"We would need to make sure that there would be one of the boys with us at all times," Alice said. "I already told Jasper and Emmett about the possible situation."

"I could take care of myself," I said. "I may not pack a killer punch but a lot of people have fallen to my killer kick."

"It's not that. Think of it as our gift to you as a friend. Your new boyfriend would probably appreciate you having your own bodyguard," Rose reasoned out.

We made our way to grab our lunch. It was so annoying when this blonde guy cut me off and separated me from Rose and Alice. Add that he made everyone else cut in front of him. When I finally grabbed my meal, I found myself being stopped at by the blonde that had been giving me creeps.

"I'm James, by the way," he said offering his hand.

"James, I wanted to get by," I said.

"Not before shaking my hand," he said.

What was I going to do? I did not want to shake his hand but I did not want to make a scene. If I did shake his hand, it would invite him to make a contact with me further. If I don't, I would make a big scene of something that may turned out to be a false alarm. I just stood there and weighed in my decision. I decided to take a step and shook his hand.

"Now, would you tell me your name?" he asked.

"Nobody," I said.

"Bells, stop being a kill joy," Jessica interrupted. "She's Bella. Bella Swan, the chief's daughter."

I wanted to kill Jessica. She did not even know what was going on and she just decided to interfere. I would make her pay for it later. I was so shocked when Emmett came and gave me a kiss.

"Hey there," he said with a smile on his face. He turned and looked at the blonde guy in cutting me off. "I'm Emmett, and you are?"

"James," the guy said.

Jessica was shocked to see that Emmett had kissed me. She hurried out, surely to gossip about Emmet and I being a couple.

James left us after that.

"Rose, I needed to talk to you," I said.

"Sure, no problem," she said. "Is this about the kiss that Emmett gave you at the cafeteria?"

"How did you know about that?" I asked.

"I told Emmett to come and get you," Rosalie explained. "I told him to do what it takes and I guessed that Emmett thought it was necessary to do so."

"Thank you. You saved me from James," I said and then I hugged her. "It must have been hard for you."

Rose smiled. "Yup. It's not everyday you see your boyfriend kissing your best friend."

I was heading toward the parking lot as class had ended for the day. I hurriedly rode my car before any of my admirers spotted me. I was already pulling away when James stood in my way.

"Hey!" I screamed.

"Would you like to ride my car instead?" he asked.

He showed me his car, it was a Mercedes but it was top down.

"I don't care. I have my truck," I answered.

"It's never too late to change your mind," he said.

He went to his car and unlocked it. He then left the parking lot, speeding on his way out.

It was then that I realized that my tire had been slashed. I called my father to pick me up.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: I am sad to let this story go. However, there are things that I wanted to do and I feel like I would do myself a disservice if I don't post the raw version here. So, this is to finish the story that I believed to be the best one I had ever written at the time that I wrote it here.

* * *

Chapter 13

A police cruiser came to the school thirty minutes later.

"Dad!" I called. "Over here!"

My father saw my truck and went there. To check it, he armed himself with the usual tools, a jack and some other four-sided tools that I was not familiar with. He then surveyed the tire and proceeded to work. About fifteen minutes later, he managed to remove all my tires and replaced them with the new ones he had along with him.

"Now, it was funny that you mentioned that all four of your tires went flat," my Dad said. "Did you make an enemy or something?"

"I don't know what you mean," I said.

"Don't lie to me, Bells. Having all four of your tires slashed doesn't mean anything unless someone was really mad at you," he continued. "Now, I'm not going to ask you what happened but I have to have a clear idea of who did it."

I gave him the list of names that would have thought it was possible to slash my tires. I could only think of one. "James," I said.

"Why did you think that?" he asked.

"He blocked me from the lunch table," I said. "So I assumed it would be him."

"Must be an admirer," my father said in his police chief mode. "I'll put him as one of your suspects nevertheless."

I waved goodbye to him and headed out. Before he left, he paused and asked me a question.

"Are you gonna get home late?" he asked.

"I'll get home at the usual time, Dad," I said.

"So, you mean just about sunset?" he clarified.

"Yes," I said.

"See you at home, Bells," he said.

"Bye, Dad," I said. I saw him leave the police parking lot.

As usual, I headed my way to the meadow. I had a sense of urgency, sensing that I had not have a lot of time. I told my father that I would be home around sunset.

"Edward!" I called. "Edward!"

"Yes, love," he said. I heard his voice but I could not find him anywhere.

"Where are you?" I asked.

"I'm here," he said. I saw the flowers moved at the corner of my eyes even though there was no breeze.

I followed the movement and sat.

"So, how's your day?" he asked.

"It's fine," I said. "Actually, it's one of the worse ones I had ever have."

"Tell me about it," he said. "It might make you feel better."

"Okay. Basically, my day went like this. I had gained a stalker and my best friend Rosalie was mad at me for kissing her boyfriend."

"Why would you kiss her boyfriend again?" he asked. "I thought I should be the only one kissing you."

"Because of my new over-eager admirer. He kissed me to 'stake a claim' that I'm not available," I said.

"Oh, so if someone decided to kiss you so that your admirer would back off on you, you'd feel okay about it?" he asked.

"Don't tell me you're jealous," I said. "Boy, this is the worst they ever."

"Just kidding, love. I was glad that you had a guy friend protecting you. Although his methods were drastic, not to mention not thoroughly thought of," he said.

"That's Emmett. He doesn't really think before he says or does anything. He has no filter," I said.

"Now, tell me about the new guy," Edward said encouragingly.

"There was this new guy at school named James," I started. "He was the talk of the school."

He was so quiet that I thought I had lost him.

"Go on," he encouraged.

"Well, he kept on bothering me to the point where I'm totally creeped out about it. He harassed me the first time we met," I pointed out.

"That guy," he said. He growled on his chest as if he was planning to pounce.

"Don't go all caveman honey," I said.

"Why?" he asked. "Because I'm useless?"

"No, silly," I said. "I don't think you are. It's just that the situation called for it."

"Damn this situation," he said. "I really am useless. I could not protect the person I love the most."

"Are you going to let me finish?" I asked.

"Go on," he said.

"As I said, James was harassing me. At lunch, he blocked my way at the counter. I told him to let me go but he wouldn't. The only thing that caused him to stop was when my friend Emmett kissed me on the lips. Actually, Emmett has to pay the price too.  
Now, Rose wasn't speaking to either of us," I said.

"You and Emmett?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.

"How's Alice handling this?" he asked. "I know you said that they are both your best friends. How was she doing?"

"Terrible. She did not know who to talk to first. Alice was like being split into two. She keeps running to Rose and me just to hang out with both of us," I said.

"That is a problem. I hope I could do something about it," he said.

"You can't. It would take time but hopefully, there won't be any long-term damage in our friendship," I said.

"I doubt it. I know that you'll be friends again in less than a week," he said.

"I hope so too," I said.

"I know so," he said.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said. "I'm glad you're my lover."

Suddenly, I felt a breeze surround me. It made me shiver with cold. Cold that I welcome knowing that it was Edward, in invisible force.

"I promise," he said. "I'll always keep an eye on you. Especially when he can't see me."

"Edward, no," I said. "Just stay here."

"You're ashamed of me," he said.

"No, I'm not," I said.

"If you're not, you would let me get there and protect you," he said.

"No," I said. "I wanted to protect you from harm. I don't want you to worry about me."

"Bella, it's my job to worry about you. You're my girlfriend after all," he said.

"Go home early," he said. "I need to think of something."

I suddenly felt that my day had just turned in for the worse. "Are you coming to my room tonight?"

"I'm not sure," he said.

"I'll keep the window open," I said. I left the meadow, feeling bad with the fight I had with Edward.

I kept my window open, desperately waiting for Edward. I hoped that he had forgiven me. It seemed useless. At around midnight, I turned off my light, and slept. I felt a welcoming presence when I felt a cold damp air enveloped me in his protective embrace.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This is one of the earliest stories I had ever written. It was time for me to let it go. That is why I am posting it raw here from start to finish.

* * *

Chapter 14

I had the most restful sleep that night, with Edward keeping me company. We talked for about an hour before I drifted to sleep, my face feeling the coolness of his touch. I dreamt of him and me, in our meadow, where he was a prince wearing a toga. I myself was wearing a toga but I had a dirtier one, indicating that I was not of noble descent after all.

I had made my way through the classroom with a happy smile on my face. What zapped me from my unusually jovial mood was Lightfire.

It had been going on for about an hour. Lightfire had been discussing on and on about how a sheep signified a lot at Chronicles of Narnia. I had not found a single sheep at the series.

I sat there, pens at hand trying my best to keep on writing. I had stabbed my notebook for I don't know how many times. The moon looked like a smooth surface compared to my notebook. I also broke three pencils and two pens along the way.

Finally running out of pencils to break, I could not take it anymore. I decided to end this battle once and for all. I was determined to do something about the incompetent woman that we called our teacher.

"Could you point out where you found a sheep at Chronicles of Narnia?" I asked, not bothering to raise my hand.

Lightfire looked at the book looking at her reference. It took her five minutes before realizing that there was no significant place the sheep was in the book.

"You must've mistook it from the Bible then," I said. "I know that C.S. Lewis based Chronicles of Narnia from the Bible but it doesn't mean that he should copy everything from there.

"He did use some of the teachings and the legends there from the Bible. The sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve… They were the first humans. So, all the human male was called the sons of Adam and all the human female was called the daughters of Eve," I said.

"Are you done Miss Swan?" she asked. "I would send you to detention right now?"

"What? For pointing out the wrong things you're teaching us?" I asked.

"No, for insulting a teacher," she said. "You just made me sound incompetent."

"But you are incompetent," I said before being able to stop myself. I held my hands to my mouth realizing what I have done.

"You are going to the principal's office for insulting me," she said.

She handed me a note saying that I was sent to the principal's office. I made my way there, with a sour look on my face even though I felt really triumphant.

"Hey, Bells! Wait up," someone called out from behind me.

I looked around and saw Emmett running toward me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Not missing the show," he said. "I wanna see every moment of it. The time for the Swan to finally learn how to stand up for herself."

"Thanks, Em," I said. "How did you manage to get out of the classroom?"

"I snuck out," he said. "It was only a few more minutes before the bell rings anyway."

"Congratulations, Bells!" Emmett gave his felicitations while we were walking. "You finally grew some spine."

I laughed. Then, Emmett got closer to me and leaned on my ear.

"Just between you and me, you're in bigger trouble here. Are you up for it?" he whispered.

I studied myself and reflected on my actions. I just realized the gravity of what I had done. I decided to steel my nerves and faced the consequences of my actions. I finally learned how to stand up for myself and I would not let anything get to me. The principal was just a block to my path of self discovery.

"Yes," I said, realizing the truth to my statement.

We stopped at the Principal's office. He was waiting there for us with a smile.

"So, what trouble did the daughter of the police chief and the son of the most beloved doctor cause?" Gilbert Aro, our principal asked. "Ms. Lightfire said you were disruptive."

"I was not really disruptive," I started. "I just pointed out her endless mistakes with what she was teaching us."

"What kind of mistakes?" he asked, showing a sign of encouragement.

"In this case, she was talking about a sheep in Chronicles of Narnia. No sheep has a major role in the story," I said. "She was explaining how important it was but it had nothing to do with it.

"She sent me here saying that I just insulted her. I did not know that I did that—"

"You did Bells," Emmett interrupted.

"Yes, I did," I agreed. "After she said those insulting things to herself."

"Since I am in a lot of trouble already, I had to say something or I would end up being brain dead. Earlier this year, she asked us to write an essay comparing Wuthering Heights to other works of Shakespeare. She wanted us to compare the difference in the styles. Now, that would not have been a bad assignment, except for the fact that she thought Shakespeare wrote it.

"She had been making countless errors in her teachings. I personally do not think she was fit to become a teacher," I finally concluded doing my best imitation of Alice's best puppy dog eyes.

"Hmm… those were very serious accusations," Principal Aro said. He then turned to Emmett and asked, "What about you? What are you doing here?"

"I just followed Bella not wanting to miss every single minute of it," he answered. "You see, Bella Swan is one of my best friends and I do know how much she loves her classics. For some reason, it infuriates her that Victoria Lightfire was teaching all the wrong stuff. Bella pretty much know more than the teacher. Hell, everyone know more than the teacher but everyone would agree to me that she is the best in the class," he said.

"Stupid nepotism," Mr. Aro whispered to himself. He then turned to us and said, "I would do what I can to take care of the problems. I would need the two of you back here after school, okay?"

We nodded our head in agreement. There was something about the old gentleman that made you feel at ease.

"So, I'll see you later," he said shaking both our hands.

"Thank you, sir," I'll see you later.

Emmett and I decided to wait in the car until our next class.

It was lunch time when we met up with Alice. By that time, rumors had circulated around the student body at how I got into trouble with Lightfire. The rumors got wilder and wilder. The last thing I heard was that I set her hair on fire.

"Well, you've made a name to yourself," Emmett joked. "There's at least a bad rumor going on about you."

"Seriously, I don't care about the rumors. I was just doing what is right," I said to him.

Everybody stopped what they were doing. Rose dropped her fork, Alice stopped mauling Jasper's face. Emmett just stared in front of me.

"What did you say?" Jasper asked.

"I said I was doing what I thought was right," I repeated.

Everybody paused some more. Then, they all got up of their chair and enveloped me into a giant group hug.

"We're so proud of you," Alice said. "You finally are learning to take a stand with what you believe in."

"I guess so," I told myself. I continued eating the salad, not wanting to show them how Alice's words had affected me.

I made my way to the principal's office after school along with Emmett, Alice and Jasper. Rosalie and I were still not on speaking terms but I noticed that she was not far from us. She was always close by. Emmett, Alice, and Jasper gave me a nod of encouragement as I left them standing in the doorway. Then, Emmett grabbed my hand and gave it a friendly squeeze.

"Whatever happens, we're here for you," Emmett said.

We headed to the room. When we got there, we found Victoria Lightfire sitting in front of Aro.

Emmett and I sat on the couch at the front of the door. There, we sat next to each other, ready to face the troubles in front of us.

"So, Bella, do you have things to say to Ms. Lightfire?" Principal Aro asked.

"You are an incompetent teacher who should not be teaching," I huffed.

"Ms. Lightfire, any last words to Ms. Swan?" the principal continued.

"You have definitely insulted me. You had no respect for authority," she said.

"I beg to differ," I said. "I respect my parents and most of the teachers in this school. You just think that you're a good teacher to begin with but you're not."

"Stop insulting me," she said.

"I'm not insulting you. I'm just telling the truth," I said.

"Even if it's the 'truth,' you should know what the heck you're talking about when you did that. I'm your teacher and you're my student," she said.

"True," I agreed with her. "But I know more about literature than you. I need a competitive teacher."

"I'll show you competitive. We should have a contest by commenting on a particular book. Let a third party decide which one of us is better. If I win, you would transfer out of my class and find yourself a new Literature teacher. If you win, I would quit this job and never teach again," she said with conviction.

"Deal," I said.

"We would have a timed essay. I would pick a particular book from the list of classics I got from the library. Whatever it is, you have two hours to present a good summary for it. Then, I would have someone else grade it," he said.

Once the clock hit four in the evening, Lightfire and I had gotten to work. The book chosen was Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. I finished the essay forty-five minutes before the time was up.

On the other hand, Lightfire continued writing until the clock hit six. The principal took the paper from her as he handed both our papers to someone we were not familiar with.

"This is Doctor Dave Caius," he said. "He is teaching Literature at University of Washington. He would be grading your papers."

About fifteen minutes later, Doctor Caius finished grading the papers. He came out carrying the two sets of papers.

"We have a clear winner here," Dr. Caius said. "Isabella Swan."

Dr. Caius approached me. He shook my hand and said, "Congratulations, Isabella. Your essay was really good. I would be glad to have you as my student next year. You're a senior, right?"

"No," I said. "I'm a junior."

"I'll be happy to teach you literature once you're in college," he said.

He then turned to Principal Aro. "You have a really talented student here," he said pointing at me. "It would be a waste of time if she does not learn anything new."

"I would find a replacement teacher soon," Principal Aro said. "In the mean time, I would be your replacement."

I felt good about myself. I did something that no one else could have done. I had managed to get a teacher fired and be replaced with most likely a more competitive one. Had this happened that someone told me that I would get a teacher fired last year, I would not have believed that person. And yet, look at what I was doing right now.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: This is a seed of my dream and it grew. It brought forth much fruit. With this story I have learned that I have so much to learn and learn I did. That is why I realized that it is time for me to let it go. It is holding me back. I would post the remaining chapters in here without further revisions. It is time for me to write a bigger, better story and enjoy the discovery of each one.

* * *

Chapter 15

My kiss with Emmett finally became a knowledge with the entire student body. The next day at school, there was a gossip that Emmett had dumped Rose for me. Then, they said that Rose tortured me and gave me a lot of bruises. There maybe a basis to that statement but the entire school was shocked when I arrived unscathed.

"Good morning, Alice," I said as I approached Alice's car.

"Good morning, Bella," Alice said. Rose clearly was not in speaking terms with me yet.

I leaned in the passenger window and asked, "Rose, are you still mad at me?"

Rose did not answer as if she did not hear my question at all. Then, she looked at the opposite side of the car, away from me.

I opened the door and let myself inside Alice's car. "You two should start talking soon. It's been two days since the incident," Alice said.

"I had been trying of getting her to talk to me," I said. "Clearly she was still ignoring me."

"Rose," Alice began. "What do you have to say about that?"

"That she stole my boyfriend away from me. Emmett have never kissed anyone like that except for me. Ever," Rose said.

"Would it be better if I told you that kissing Emmett was like kissing a brother?" I said.

"No, he doesn't kiss like my brother," Rose said.

"To you," I said. "To me, it's like kissing my relative."

Alice was laughing. She was pounding her steering wheel trying to control herself.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"Emmett said the same thing. Poor guy. He doesn't know what to do. The person is lost without you, Rose," Alice said.

"Then why the hell was he kissing Bella the other day?" she asked Alice.

"You didn't realize that it was just a show. James was harassing me so Emmett must've thought that it's a brilliant idea for James to see that I'm taken," I said. "Of course, I'm taken. Just not with Emmett."

Rose finally began to look at me. Of course she was still not talking to me but it's a good thing that she was asking questions. I continued.

"You know what I said afterwards?" I asked. "I said that he shouldn't kiss someone like that at all.

"He said that he did that because of James. It was then that I had to point out that there are other ways to drive away an admirer without 'showing people that you're taken.' Emmett was taken aback because he honestly did not think of that," I said.

"That's obviously Emmett," Rose said. "Act now, think later."

"Rose, I can assure you that you're the only person he loves," I said. "He said that of course, the kiss is like kissing Alice. He prefers kissing you any time of the day, Rose."

I could finally see a smile on Rose's face. I was beginning to crack the tough armor that she placed between us. I looked at Rose's eyes and said, "Do you honestly think I would be interested in Emmett? I think of him as an older brother myself. Think of me as Alice when it comes to Emmettt."

"I guess James was harassing you really badly for Emmett to do that," she finally relented.

"Yes, he was," I said. "He wouldn't let me go the entire time. In fact, he even came to me the other day and asked me to ride in his car. He might've slashed my tires."

"I'll be honest with you. I was the one that slashed your tires," Rose admitted.

"Why would you do that?" I asked.

"I was mad," Rose answered. "Be thankful you're not Emmett that day."

"Why?" I asked.

"I could tell you why," Alice said. "She broke his glasses and took away the steering wheel. Then she slashed his car."

"Wow, Rose," I said in awe. "I would never want to face your wrath again."

"You better," she said. "Now, just in case you forget, Emmett is mine."

"I understand completely," I said.

"So, Rose, what are we gonna do with the rumor?" I asked. "I don't want people to think that I'm a boyfriend stealer."

"Don't worry about that, Bella," Rose said. "The rumor would die out."

I was finally feeling light on my chest now that Rose had forgiven me for the kiss. I did not know how close we would be again so I was surprised when she gave me a hug. I said to her that I was sorry for what happened and she answered that she had forgiven me.

The three of us got out of the car. Walking one arm clasped on one another with me on the middle, we headed to meet the boys at the school ground.

"Hello, boys," Rose said seductively.

"Hi, sis!" Jasper said, kissing his sister on the cheek.

"Hi, my Rosie," Emmett said.

Emmett was surprised that Rose kissed him on the lips but was very glad nonetheless. She whispered something on Emmett's ear that made him blush. Emmett stopped what he was doing when he looked really far.

"Sorry," Emmett said. "James was approaching."

Everyone looked at the direction he was looking at. He was right when he said that James was there but I was glad when he left me alone.

"Whew," I sighed in relief. "That was close."

"Now, tell me," Rose began. "How bad is this guy again?"

"Really bad," Emmett said. "Jasper would've done something similar to what I did if he approached her first."

"Don't compare me to you," Jasper said. "But I'm glad you got to Alice first or otherwise I would be facing a serious dilemma that might equal to yours."

"You would kiss Bella, too?" Alice asked skeptically.

"Yes," he answered. "Actually, no. I would tell James to back off my 'girlfriend' though."

Rose nodded. "I think that would cause a less dilemma though. You wouldn't really kiss Bella."

"I might if he asked us," Jasper said.

"Oh," Rose commented.

The ten-minute-bell rang and everyone of us headed to our classes. Emmett and I headed to English. Jasper, Rosalie and Alice proceeded to the direction where they were supposed to go.

"I'm glad Rose and I are talking again," Emmett excitedly stated. "I miss her."

I smiled at him. It was nice to see Emmett happy. "I know. You're lucky to have her."

"So, when are we going to meet your man?" he asked.

"When we got everything fixed," I said not wanting to lie. "You'll love him."

"If he could get you to smile, I love him already," Emmett stated.

"Awww, Emmett, you are so sweet," I said with a blushed. Emmett chuckled.

"Of course, we'd kill him if he ever did anything to hurt you," he said.

We sat at the back of the room and were not surprised when we saw an unfamiliar looking teacher. Ms. Lightfire was forced to quit after our contest. We had witnesses when we made our bet.

Our new teacher, Billy Black, knew what he was doing. Of course, his favorites were the story of his tribe. He said that what good is moving forward if you have no basis where you come from.

English class today was much more enjoyable. The teacher obviously knew what he was doing. He taught us Hamlet, Othello and of course, Romeo and Juliet. He continued the discussion for Chronicles of Narnia.

The new English teacher encouraged all of us to join in the discussion. Of course, he would call students from time to time just to make sure that they were reading the book. I kept on insisting that we shouldn't be reading a children's book in high school.

"Why'd you say it's a children's book, Ms. Swan?" Professor Black asked.

"The main characters are children," I said. "Also, the animals of the story seemed to point out the fable that men are God's chosen ones to dominate the earth. In this case, to rule over Narnia."

"You're right," he said. "Chronicles of Narnia is the author's interpretation of the Bible."

He faced the class and continued the discussion. He looked at everyone of us saying, "You see, the symbolisms are easily picked up by Christians who were familiar with the Bible. It was so filled with lessons about God or Christ that it would teach the children to be closer to God. Hence the children's book format. For your homework, I would like you to pick a book from the Chronicles of Narnia series and summarize it. Then, explain why the author thought that the Lion should represent Christ."

The bell rang just as he finished with his last sentence. The teacher obviously timed giving our homework before the bell we all headed out the door. I really liked this teacher. He was knowledgeable and practiced good time management.

"Oh, Isabella," Professor Black called. "I would like to talk to you about something."


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: It is time for me to let it go and to stop holding on to this story. I am letting it free to the world with all its imperfections. That is why I am posting it raw. It is a reflection of my early writing skills and how far I've come since then.

* * *

Chapter 16

I looked at Emmett and shrugged. "I don't think you should wait for me."

"It will be fine. I'll wait for you."

"Okay, but if gets too close before the bell rings, you have the right to leave me," I said.

At this instant, I did not know what to do. Did I get into trouble? I did not know. All I know was that Professor Black was in front waiting for me. I took a deep breath, move one foot in front of the other, getting myself ready from the troubles that I might face. I opposed his views after all.

"Bella," he said. "Don't be shy. I won't bite."

I swallowed my nerves and hurriedly went to him. I needed to face the music with whatever I did. When I was in front of him, I saw him grinning.

"I realized that your essays are impressive," he said. "This could pass for a college level."

"Thank you, sir," I said.

"What do you think of joining a contest that would test your literary skills?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Professor?" I asked.

"I mean, why don't you join the contest and use that wonderful talent of yours," he said. "I think everybody would love you. I'm talking about literature.

He grabbed a copy of Jane Austen and tossed it to me. He asked me what I think of this book.

"It was lovely," I said. "It's one of my favorite books."

"Then you'd be fine," he said. "Why don't you join the contest? It's a literary critique contest testing your skills."

He handed a form to me. It was for the contest. I grabbed it and put it on my side.

"Would you explain everything to me?" I asked.

"Thank you for your compliment, I guess," I answered.

"Nonsense. If anything, it meant that you are well read. Tell me, what are your favorite classics?" he asked.

I started by counting my fingers as I say them, "Pride and Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Romeo and Juliet just to name a few."

"Perfect. There is a contest amongst schools. It is for people like you who have the opinion regarding books. Say, do you read books other than your favorites?" he asked.

"Of course, I read Uglies recently. It's by Scott Westerfield," I said.

"What do you think of Uglies?"

"I think it's brilliant. The concept may not be unique as it was about plastic surgery but I like the fact that he made it to the point where everyone that should be pretty are stupid, the uglies have a low self-esteem. I think he played a lot of stereotypes in there and he explained why. It's because of the special circumstances that tried to control everything by maintaining the status quo. It seems that he was using the stereotypes to represent the special circumstances," I said.

"Perfect. You are about to analyze a modern piece of literature," he said. "Just be yourself and you'll be fine. You are witty and perfect for this."

"What do you mean analyze?" I asked.

"You are to pick a book that was recently published—about ten years back. You are to say what you think of them, and how you interpret them and would you recommend them. It's basically being a so-called 'expert game' at such a young age. Whoever wins would have an internship spot at the local magazine working under the person in charge of critiquing."

I felt intrigue with the concept. I said to myself, why not? At least this was something I would do for myself and not something that I would do to meet other's expectations.

My eyes lit up as I awaited for his explanation. "You are about to turn this in three months from today. You would need to have at least two books to critique," he said, handing me a list. "These are the list of the books you are allowed to choose. You would also need a teacher's recommendation and that shouldn't be a problem since I only give these to students that seemed to be interested in these sorts of things. Otherwise, it would be a waste of time leaving them in the classroom. I would make the announcement for it next week. Knowing that you are interested, you never keep the opinion to yourself regarding what you think of books, I gave you the first dibs."

I felt so happy that I could not help the grin that appeared on my face. I had the urge to hug Professor Black so I did. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now go back to class before you would be late," he said.

He led be back to the classroom. When I got there, Emmett was waiting for me, talking to Rose.

"Hey, girl! I can see that you're happy. So tell me what happened," Rose said.

"Professor Black told me about the critiquing contest at school. Actually, it's school against school battling one another," I said.

"That's perfect, Bells. We now have something for you to totally enjoy. It's perfect," he said.

"Yeah. I'm glad your book loving abilities would be put to good use," Rosalie added.

"Oh, I gotta tell Alice," I said.

Rose pulled out her cell phone. "I'm on it," she said.

She called Alice. Once Alice picked up, she said. "Hey, Alice! Guess what?" she said.

"Bella got recommended to join a critiquing contest," Rose said. "What do you mean you've heard of it? I see. Talk to you later. Bye." She hanged up the phone.

"What did she say?" I asked.

"Apparently the contest had been going on for a while now. Unfortunately, the school decided not to join every year. Something about incompetent students," she said with a wink.

That made a lot of sense. After all, incompetent teachers lead to incompetent students.

We made our way to the locker. Rose, Emmett, Alice, Jasper and I had our lockers close to one another.

"So, what book or books are you critiquing?" Rose asked.

"Don't know yet. Still deciding. Here's the list," I said, tossing the piece of paper to her.

"Hmmm…" she thought, looking at the list. "This should be perfect for you."

"I know," I said taking the list back. "I've read half of these books."

I opened my locker. I was shocked to find a bouquet of roses inside.

"Rose, Emmett. In here. Now," I said slowly.

"What's the ma…" Emmett did not finish the sentence when he saw the roses on my locker.

Rose paused as well. All I could see was she was pale. She was frozen in fear.

"Is this some kind of a joke?" I asked. Neither of them moved or said anything.

I read the card. "Persistence always pays off."

"Did you know who it came from?" he asked.

"No. With all of my admirers being turned down, I have a list of suspects," I said.

I don't know whose these are from but for now, they would be going to the trash can.

I made my way to class after class, thinking of the roses. My good mood earlier was replaced with fear. Who could have known my locker combination and stuck the roses in there?


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: There's only a few more chapters to go. As I said before, I am posting the remaining ones as it is. There would be no editing and no revisions. It would be time for me to let it go.

* * *

Chapter 17

"Bella," Alice called. I looked up to her and waited for her question. "Are you okay?"

"Apparently not," Rose answered for me. "There was a bouquet of roses in her locker."

"That was sweet," Alice started. She paused and then thought about it some more. "Or not." She was shivering at the thought.

"Any guesses of who could it be?" Jasper asked.

"No," I said.

"Well, let's make a list of all the people you turned down," he said.

"I'll take care of that," Alice said. "Just tell me if I've forgotten someone."

"Thanks, Alice. I personally don't want to deal with this right now," I said.

"But Bella, you have to," Jasper said. "We don't know how far this person would go to get to you."

"Leave Bella for a while," Rose said. "She had been through a lot. Let's take care of the list and let her rest about this thing for about a day or two."

"Have you heard of the good news?" Rose asked.

"About Bella joining the critiquing contest?" Jasper asked. "Sure, I was with Alice when you called."

"But guys, I'm not sure if I would join this contest," I told them.

My best friends looked at me as if I was crazy. They all paused and with that, time seemed to stop.

"Don't you dare tell me that you're not going to join this contest," Alice started. "This was the first time I've seen you so excited about something. Except the time when we found you the day after the sleepover."

"Yeah. What was that about?" Rose asked.

"Secret," I said with a smile.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: This would be the end of The Man in the Fog. I have written the first draft about a year ago but I felt like I want to improve it. Then, I realized that I want to write other stories and that this one is holding me back. It was a nice story but just like your first love, I should not hold onto it when it's holding me back. I need to let it go. That is why I am posting it here in raw.

* * *

Chapter 18

The day became uneventful. I decided to head to the meadow after class. I knew that I could not see Edward, but he would be there nonetheless.

"Edward!" I shouted. "Guess what?"

"Hello to you too, Isabella," he said with happiness in his voice. "Remember, I'm invisible. Not deaf."

"There was an interschool critiquing contest," I said. "I'm deciding of joining."

Edward was now laughing. "That was great. You never can seem to put down a book after I've taught you to read."

"You taught me to read?" I asked, incredulously.

"Yeah. Remember your life when you were a commoner?" he asked.

"Not exactly. Remember, I died and got reborn into this one," I answered. "Remind me."

"You were amazed at my vast collection of books. Everyday we would go to the castle and you would go to my room. You kept on looking at those books with a twinkle in your eye. That's when I decided to teach you," he said.

"You were easy to teach," he said. "Everyday, I would bring you a new letter to teach but you insisted on learning them all. You even said, 'Edward, I'm not a kid anymore. Surely you would give me more than you give your kids their letters.' You were insatiable with knowledge."

He chuckled and continued, "Of course, when you finally learned how to read, I felt like I have created a monster. You were reading nonstop. My parents seemed to think that someone was stealing all the books that they were selling them. Then, they realized it was you. They laughed quite a lot."

Suddenly, I felt cold damp air surround me. My heart beat fast, knowing that it was Edward embracing me. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

I mused at his thought. Apparently, I have brought a lot of qualities with me from my other life. We stayed in that position for two hours. We kept talking about everything. I forgot to tell him about the "rose incident." I guess I did not want to tell him at all since I wanted to forget them myself.

I decided it was time to go home when the sun started to turn yellow. I headed to my truck and went back to the house. It only took me a few minutes to reach my house from the meadow.

Chapter 19

When I got home, my father and mother were both there. It seemed that they had taken notice of my later arrival from home.

"Where have you been, Bella?" she asked.

"I have been at the forest—the Cullen's property," I answered.

"I see..." my Dad said. "Just be careful, okay?"

"I will," I said. "Oh, Dad, Mom, my teacher recommended me to this critiquing contest."

"Congratulations!" Mom said. "You better join."

"Mom, you sound a lot like Alice a while ago," I complained.

"That's because we see more to you than you realized," Mom said. "Look, I know how much you love books. Our house looked like a library for goodness sake, all because of you. You better join this thing or I would force you to."

Mom was pouting at the last statement. Dad put his arms around Mom's shoulders and said, "Dear, don't do anything rash. We both know that Bella would join this whether we like it or not."

My father winked at me as he saw the twinkle in my mother's eyes. My mother decided that she would "help" me by bringing me to Port Angeles next week.

We did not order anything that night even though I did not make it in time to cook for dinner. We went out to eat, to celebrate the recommendation to the critiquing contest. They or rather we did not know whether I would win or not but we all knew my passion for reading would somehow make everything okay.

"Bella," Emmett said. "Would you do this now?"

"Do what now?" I asked.

"Join Alice at the school paper," he answered. "You know, as their literary author. More like the critiquing author."

"Why have you been insisting on doing this?" I asked. "If it wasn't you, it's Jasper, Rose and Alice."

"Because," Emmett started. "You needed to practice."

"Emmett," I said as I looked at him in the eye. "Seriously, answer my question. This isn't just about me practicing now, is it?"

Emmett looked away from me. He shook his head and said, "No. But I could see that one of your deepest passions is reading your books. All of us could see it. That is why Alice recommended that you replace our critiquing writer for a while 'coz one, he sucks and two, you are the best person for the job. Heck, if we could have you do what you're passionate about, maybe we could look and find out what are the other things you're passionate about."

I nodded my head as I thought of his reply. I realized that he was right. Alice. Rosalie. Emmett. Jasper. They were my bestest friends in the world. All they wanted was for me to find myself and do what I can with a passion—it was the reason for the twinkle in my eye. They said it gave me life. I decided to join Alice at the school paper and try out being the literary critique.

Chapter 20

On Monday morning, the Gazzelle, Forks High School's school paper, arrived. Everyone was eager to grab a copy. Of course, like most school paper, it always ended up in trash. I was sad of this as everyone had worked hard to make it. I guessed they did not appreciate hard work.

What was different this time was that students were reading, instead of skimming it out and tossing it away within ten minutes. The only popular section, besides Alice's fashion section was the feature. So, I was amazed that people were still reading after twenty minutes.

"Hey, Emmett!" I called. "Do you notice anything strange?"

"What do you mean?" he asked. Then, he looked around and nodded. He grabbed a school newspaper and read it himself.

"I can see why," he answered. He opened a huge page of the article where it showed my section, the literary critique. "Apparently, everyone was shocked that you could comment on literature after your little outburst at Lightfire's class when she was still here."

"I nodded my head in agreement. But Lightfire doesn't know anything about literature. Why she teaches students is beyond me," I said.

"Apparently, you're better than great. Everyone enjoyed your critiquing for the Uglies series. And the Twilight series," Emmett said. He perused the newspaper and started reading, "Twilight maybe a huge success but there was more to it than that. It was about the beauty of finding that true love. For even if first love dies there is nothing quite like it. Of course, it wouldn't hurt that the hero, Edward, is obsessed with Bella, who sees herself as ordinary. I mean, if you would have the most handsome man in the planet go to your window, won't you let him get in everyday? If Brad Pitt told you that they want you out of every other girl on the planet and would come to your window just to watch you sleep, would you let him? Twilight offers what most of us only dream of: a true love that was beyond everything that we have ever experienced. Who knows? We somehow wished to be sucked into the book and find a vampire of our own."

"What?" I asked. "Those are just my ramblings. Surely, not everyone thinks that way."

Emmett looked around and said, "Well, it's better than your predecessor. I think everyone was still digesting your comments on the book."

"Hey Bella!" Mike called. "You really know how to talk about your books."

Mike was talking to Eric. Apparently, they were my most loyal fans.

Jessica came from behind. I heard her talking to Lauren that my work was plagiarized.

"I think someone's jealous of your writing skills," Rose explained.

With all of the commotion or buzz that my literary critique debut had caused, I decided to cut classes and go to the meadow. Of course, I brought my newspaper with me. I wanted to show Edward what I had done.

Chapter 21

"Edward!" I called as I reached the meadow.

Surprisingly, it was foggy at the meadow so I did not have a hard time seeing Edward.

"Hi to you too!" he said. "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I decided to cut classes for now," I said.

"As much as I love you here, you have a responsibility as a student," he pointed out. He chuckled and reached me and gave me a hug. I felt his damp wetness enveloping me all over. He made my lips felt like I just had a wonderful snow cone as I felt him kiss me.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I have to get away because of this," I said and I showed him the newspaper.

Edward looked at me as if I was insane. He broke the ice by saying, "Bella, you do realize that I can't read this character, right?"

"Say what?" I cried aloud. "You've gotta be kidding me."

"No," Edward shook his head. "We had different characters back in the day. They looked like drawings compare to this. Would you tell me what this is all about?"

"You see, I wrote this article," I opened the newspaper in front of him and showed him what I wrote. "People are talking about it and I just had to get away. I don't like the attention."

"Okay, understandable enough," Edward said, chuckling. "Would you read what you wrote?"

"Okay," I said. I began reading to him what I wrote. From the corner of my eyes, I saw him looking fascinated with every word I utter. I wondered if he was truly paying attention to what I was saying.

When I finished, he said, "Wow. No wonder people wanted your stuff. You're good."

"You think so?" I asked meekly.

"I know so," he said. "Your teacher was right to recommend you to the contest. That's totally what you would do best."

So, I stayed at the meadow with Edward the whole day. Finally, I realized that it was time to go home as students were going to leave the campus.

"Edward," I said as I got up preparing to leave. "Would you come to my room every night"

Edward chuckled. "Honey, we had been doing that for the past few months now so yes. Would you teach me how to read this time around?"

"Yes," I answered. "It's funny how the teacher became the student."

"And how the student became the teacher," he said. Edward put his arm around my waist, hugged me and planted me a kiss.

I hurriedly got to my truck and headed home. When I got there, I was surprised to find my parents in the living room waiting for me.

Chapter 22

It was amusing to see both of them. My father looked like he was seething. My mother was smiling, hugging my father, trying to reel in his anger.

"Bella," my father said sternly. "I got a call from school."

Uh-oh. I got busted from ditching. It was my first time too. Could they just let me slip this time?

"Sorry, I ditched," I admitted. It was better to come clean now. Otherwise, it would be so messy like the cookie jar incident. All they wanted was to for me to tell the truth no matter how awful it was.

"Why did you do that?" my mother asked.

"Because I got so overwhelmed when I got there. The Gazelle came out and it was my first time writing as a literary critique. Everyone loved it. I just had to get away from all the attention," I answered.

"And where did you go to get away?" my mother asked.

"I went to hike at the woods," I said.

"You what?" my mother yelled. It was her time to seethe now. "Of all the places for you to ditch to, why go to the woods? Don't you know how dangerous it is? You could have been killed. Why can't you just ditch to the mall like the normal kids?"

"Dear, remember what you told me," Dad was now calming my dear mother. "So, did you find something interesting?"

"No," I answered, leaving the fact that I was spending the most interesting time with the most fascinating person I have ever met. Of course, I found him previously so it does not count. "Although I felt better from doing that."

I looked at both of them waiting for punishment. Dad got up the chair and hugged me. He brought me to Mom.

"Bella, I'm so proud of you," Dad said.

"You're what?" I asked, shocked with what he said.

"Your Dad was right. We are so proud of you," Mom said.

"Mom," I said. "I ditched school. I went through the woods all day by myself. And you're telling me that you're proud of me?"

What twisted logic were my parents playing right now? I did not understand them at all. I expected them to be furious and what did I get? A congratulations with a pat on my back.

"Yes," my mother said. "It was time for you to figure things out for yourself. We were so concerned about you trying to be perfect all the time. We were having a heart attack. We were waiting for you to snap—you know, crazy snap."

"That was why we were pretty encouraging with you to try new things," my father said. "We did not know if we would come home one day and look at our daughter who might be ready to go to the asylum."

I could not believe what I was hearing. My parents encouraged me to be truant.

"I don't understand you guys. Why are you encouraging me to ditch?" I asked.

"Silly, we love you," Mom said. "We just don't know what we would do with you. So, we decided to encourage you to do almost anything you wanted to do (I would say with the exception of alcohol, drugs and unsafe sex) because we know that you're bound to make mistakes."

"We wanted you to learn from your own mistakes and get back from your own two feet," Dad continued. "Of course, we wanted to welcome you with open arms everytime you wanted to come back."

I had never seen a side like this from my parents. All I knew is that I love them and I am lucky to have them.

Chapter 23

Emmett was sitting in the bright yellow hover chair. Hands at his chin, he looked like he was thinking. Jasper was in the same position except that he was standing. Beside him was Alice, seemingly lost in her world. Looking for things that we might had overlooked. It was Rose, who seemed to be out of the ordinary. Legs spread all over the couch, looking at a magazine. Somehow I felt weird looking at her like that when we were all in our thinking positions.

"What?" Rose asked. "This is my thinking position."

Emmett and Jasper laughed. We had been aware at her thinking positions (or in Emmett's case, the position that was meant to distract him).

We were trying to find out how we could learn who my stalker was. These past few weeks had been terrifying. There had been gifts left in areas where I would be the only thing who would be able to get into. There were gifts in my car, in my locker and even in my own room. Chocolates, flowers, pictures of me somewhere. This is getting crazy. This has got to stop.

"What about if we took Bella's picture? You know, have everyone spread out and take pictures of everybody surrounding Bella," Rose suggested. It seemed that she was doing her usual brainstorming method—spit everything out until something clicked. She said something of just letting the right brain work. Unfortunately, our brains don't work that way.

"Too impractical," Jasper said.

"Yeah, what about we hire a private investigator?" Alice asked.

"We might be onto something here," said Emmett.

"What's the fun in that?" Rosalie asked.

"What are you suggesting? I asked back.

"Why don't we do it ourselves?" Rose clarified.

We all stopped at her suggestion. It seemed obvious that we could have hired a private investigator but I thought it would be too pricy. However, if we do it ourselves…

"I like your idea," Emmett said. "We could totally use the spy gadgets Jasper and I had been collecting."

"Why do you have spy gadgets?" I asked.

"To help cause trouble," Emmett said. "It's what we used on our freshman year in high school."

And with that, I had a sickening feeling in my stomach. Freshman year was the year Jasper and Emmett got held back for the trouble they caused. If they got it on their freshman year, it only meant one thing. This would not be good.

"Relax, Bella," Emmett said. "We learned our lesson. It doesn't mean we still can't use it."

"Oh, no you don't!" Alice squealed. "I would not let you get into a lot of trouble again."

"Alice, honey, we need to do this," Jasper said. "It's the only way we could help Bella."

I felt guiltier by the second. My best friends did not mind feeling guilty because of me. They welcomed the trouble this little stunt would cause them.

"I'm in," Rosalie said. "For Bella."

"For Bella," all my other best friends shouted in unison.

We planned on how we would be doing the ambush. We decided to plant bugs on my locker, my car and my room. Then, we wait and see who would activate them.

The day of the operation came. Emmett and Jasper had been wearing all black, "trying" to sneak in to my locker.

"Why do you have to wear those ridiculous outfit, guys?" I asked.

"It makes us feel like real spies," Emmett said.

I shook my head. So this is just fun and games for them.

"Don't worry, Bella," Alice said, holding on to my shoulders. "We'll find your stalker."

My best friends decided to plant the bugs all at the same time. Rose in my room, Alice in my car and Jasper in my locker. At the ring of my cell phone, we all counted up to five before setting the bugs to work. Once the bugs were working, we all headed to class.

In the middle of the third period, I heard a beeping sound coming from my cell phone.

"It's time," I said to myself.

I quickly excused myself out of the room. Professor Varner graciously allowed me to get out of class by telling him that I have to go to the bathroom.

Once outside the classroom, I ran towards my locker. I called both Alice and Jasper's cell phone and then Rose and Emmett afterwards. We just let it ring. The ring was enough to tell them to meet me at the locker area.

Once we got there, there was a tall man, about seven feet tall, trying to put flowers in my locker. He saw us, and then waved. When he saw us running with crazed look on our faces, he decided to run too. But he ran a little bit too slow. Soon, Emmett and Jasper had him on a head lock.

"What are you doing in Bella's locker?" Emmett asked.

"Seriously?" Jacob asked. "I have a friend who said to put things into his girlfriend's locker. I did not know that his girlfriend was Bella."

"So, you're not the stalker?" Emmett asked, directly to the point.

"Stalker?" he repeated. "Hell no. I was only doing favor to a friend."

"Who told you to put the flowers in the locker?" Jasper asked. His hand was tightening around Jacob's arm.

"He said to keep it a secret," Jacob answered.

Jasper used a little bit more force. "Who?"

Jacob pointed out toward the hallway.

We saw a person standing in the hallway. Emmett let go of Jacob to run after the person. Jasper kept his hands on Jacob.

"You're coming with me," he said.

Pushing Jacob's arm, we tried to follow Emmett. It was such a wild goose chase. We managed to find ourselves in the cafeteria and in the buildings. My stalker was pretty illusive. He seemed to not wanted to get caught. Finally, we cornered him in the middle of the Art room.

Emmett used his body and made the stalker fell to the ground. The latter put up a fight. In the end, he was no match to Emmett's size and strength.

We all made the stalker face us. When we lifted his head, it was someone who I did not expected. It was Mike Newton.

"Why are you stalking me?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious? I like you. Then, I figured that I need to learn more about you before I could make you go out with me. I decided to follow you around. I made my way first by knowing your locker combination. That was the first moment I had stalked on you. I managed to find your house first. Once I did, I made a duplicate key of every key in your house, knowing that one of them would be your truck so I did. I found a lot of interesting things about you.

"You seem to be spending a lot of times to the library. With that, I feel that you are an avid reader. You love gathering new knowledge. I also noticed that you seem to be at the Cullen's property a lot lately," Mike said. Emmett raised his brow. "Why is that?"

"There was a beautiful spot at the Cullen's property," I answered. "I always calm myself everytime I go there."

Something seemed to have clicked into Alice and Rose's brain. And with that, they put the puzzle together.

"I'm calling the police," Emmett said. "We don't need anybody stalking our Bella."

"What about me?" Jacob asked.

"You're fine. You're an unknowing accomplice," Emmett said.

They sent Mike to jail. He was to stay there for thirty days. Of course, my father wanted him to stay there a lot longer. The Chief of Police sent a restraining order to prevent the poor boy from getting anywhere near me. I guess he would have to change schools.

I was thrilled to know that my stalker was caught. It seemed that I could now live in peace.  
Chapter 24

My mother, Alice, Rosalie and I headed to Port Angeles this weekend. My mother said it was to help me for my contest. I knew that was not the case. They were here to shop for clothes. I was here to shop for books. That was why I was glad to had brought the invisible Edward with me.

I felt the coolness of my wrist as his hands grabbed mine. We were going to the Port Angeles bookstore with Edward, trailing along. Of course, it would be easier if I could talk to my companion without people thinking that I was not going insane.

Edward and I approached the bookstore. I headed to their fiction section. There were a lot of books at the Barnes & Noble in Port Angeles. I just had to find the best one from the list.

"Come on, Bella," said the invisible man beside me. "Whatever you choose, you'd probably beat every single one of them by a mile."

"It doesn't matter," I whispered. "I wanted to pick the best book that would do the job."

I continued with my perusal of the available books. I found a couple of books that I was interested in critiquing for the contest. We stayed there for a while as I tried and browse at all the books that interested me. This place was my sanctuary. It was one of those things that I enjoyed doing besides being at the meadow all day with Edward.

I decided to head back and find my companions. It was lunch time after all. As I headed out the exit, I found myself blacking out.

"Edward, Edward!" I whispered. I was starting to adjust my eyes. I found myself inside a warehouse filled with boxes.

"Who's Edward?" said the voice that I would recognize everywhere. It was a voice that would give me fear.

Chapter 25

"Why the fuck would I answer you?" I said. I was back to silent treatment.

"You really are feisty, aren't you?" he said. The man that showed up did not surprise me at all. He was blonde with blue eyes. He thought that he was really handsome but he was a piece of crap to me.

I stared away from him. It was only when he decided to grab me by the wrist that I screamed in pain.

"James!" I shouted. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"Making you talk to me," he said. "Apparently, hurting you is the only way to do it."

"Why do you even bother?" I asked. "You know that I do not pay attention to you."

"Because that's precisely it," he said. "Nobody, and I mean nobody, scared the shit out of me. I wanted you to realize that everybody adore me. They love me for who I am, treating them crappy or not."

"You're not getting too full of yourself, are you?" I asked. "You do realize that I don't care about you at all."

"No. But you put up quite a fight there. I don't know but for some reason, there was a force field that was surrounding you. Still hated me subconsciously, don't you?"

"You know that. I hope you can see why," I said. "Jerk."

"What did you just call me?"

"Jerk."

James became violent. He grabbed my chin and forced his hand on my cheeks.

"No, I'm not," he said. "If I am a jerk, I would do this."

James punched me by the nose.

"Or this."

James stripped me of my shirt. He grabbed a piece of knife and slashed my wrist.

"Or this."

James drank the blood that came to my wrist. I saw his eyes turning crimson.

"What are you?" I asked.

"I am not human," he answered.

"I can see that. What are you?"

"I'm a vampire."

"But shouldn't your eyes be dark when you haven't fed?"

"No. It only changed into colors of our original eyes before we were turned. Crimson is temporary. It would fade in a few hours."

"Why don't you just drink me dry?" I asked, trying to be sarcastic.

"That way, I would have to enjoy you more. Think of it as a renewable food source. I don't have to kill you but I could feed on you as often as possible. Along with the other girls out here," he said.

He grabbed me by the hair and showed me at least twenty girls who were bound to their wrists and have mouthpieces on them so that they could not scream. They were all frozen in fear.

"Oh no you don't!" I said. I grabbed a piece of stake and did my best to drive it to his heart. He grabbed my wrist before I could not do anything.

"Watching too many movies, aren't you?" he said. He grabbed the stake from my hand and drove it to his heart instead. The stake was shattered, torn into millions of pieces.

"Fire," I said to myself, remembering Twilight.

"Fire!" I shouted. "Get some fire!"

James' eyes became frozen in fear.

"Oh no, you don't!" he said. He bound my hand and tried to stuff my face but I kept on biting his hand.

"You are the hardest of all of them. I'm sure it would be worth while feeding on you," he said. His eyes are back to turning blue.

"Edward," I cried. "Edward, save me."

Chapter 26

And with that, a torch appeared out of nowhere, hovering. It surprised me seeing that Edward usually could not carry anything. However he was doing it, I hope that he kept it up. Suddenly, something was happening. Edward was starting to turn human. I could finally see him, all of him as if he was a real human being.

Edward lit the fire at James' back. Startled, James turned around and saw my god of a man wearing a toga.

"Who are you?" James asked.

"I'm Bella's Edward," he said. "I have come to save her."

"Oh, no, you don't," James said. "You would have to go through me."

Edward lunged at James trying to free me. He grabbed James' hand. Being the stronger one, he threw Edward into the air. Edward hit the wall, but seemed like he did not get hurt. Finally, James went toward him, doing what he could to finish his rival.

Edward got up, his expression determined. The last time I had seen him like this was when we were together in the forest, chasing me to make me listen to him. He would be doing what he could to win this. I looked for an opening and did what I could to help him. I would not sit like a damsel in distress because that was not in my character. I had always been too strong willed to play the part. I tried to survey the area where we could be an advantage. _Think, think._ I surveyed the area for an escape route. We better run while we can, although there was a great chance that James would be waiting for us in the other side. I looked at the sun and realized that James would not be affected by it. Still, I had to do something.

Edward was fighting with all his might, determined to win over James but he had to do it with his bare hands. Edward hit James on the chest but the latter did not even flinch. He just went straight on and hit Edward back. Edward, however felt James' punch on the stomach and blood came out of his mouth.

I gasped. Never before had I seen Edward being beaten up like this. It was tearing me apart to know that my beloved was fighting for me and yet he was weak enough with his opponent. I had to help Edward but I did not know how. My hands were still bounded. I tried to wiggle myself out of it but the rope or whatever was tying me was too tight. I tried to bend forward and to get my hands to my feet but my hands were too short. I was starting to panic.

I reminded myself that I would not be able to remind Edward if I was panicking. Closing my eyes, I willed myself to only think of my breathing. I tried not to think of anything even though my beloved was being pummeled like a punching bag. I needed to use my brains to outsmart my captor. Finally achieving the calm that I wanted, I looked at Edward and realized that he was holding up.

I used my eyes to scan my surroundings. I with a clear mind, I was determined to find a way to escape. I noticed that there were other girls tied next to me and they all had that scared look in their faces. There were broken glass shards at the corner wall. There were books everywhere but now was not the time to read. Now was the time to escape. I formulated my plan of escape, determined to get everyone out of here as safely as possible.

Chapter 27

Meanwhile, I sat there with my hands tied up. I found a broken glass, a shard of some sort. I came over and tried to watch the fighting scene before me as I untied my hand. When my hands were finally unbounded, I went over and looked at anything useful to help Edward. I saw a wooden sword. Having an idea on my head, I grabbed a lighter that I found at the table. I lit up the sword and shouted at Edward, "here, catch."

I found a broken glass and some books. I knew his weakness but Edward did not. Gathering the books around me, I placed them in the middle. Not knowing what else to do, I looked for a lighter. I looked everywhere on this side and back. There was no small object that could light this on a switch. I would have looked at where the two men were fighting if there was a cabinet, a drawer, or a table behind them but there was none. They were just bare wall.

However, I had managed to find a broken glass. I found one that had a curvature and placed the curvature towards the suns rays. Instantly, I saw the sun's light concentrated in there. It was very small but it was so bright it was blinding. Closing my eyes, I held steadily. Within minutes, it started a smoke. I tried to blow the smoke to add oxygen but stopped quickly when I realized that I would kill it more by breathing out. I tried to fan the nearest object to fan this but I could not so I settled with fanning my free hand. The fire finally grew into a sustainable one like a candle. Doing what I could to make it bigger, I tore a piece of cardboard from the books. I fanned the flicker of flame slowly at first, increasing gradually as the flames grew. I needed to find a better fuel. Looking around me, I found just what I needed. I could not find anything around me so I settled with the next best thing.

I tried to make the fire larger by trying to set the books on fire, one by one. I needed to find a way to make the fire bigger. It was then that I noticed the blue lighter lying on my feet. I shook my head and hit it. I was looking for it everywhere but I did not look closer to where I was the whole time. I quickly took the lighter and lit the books one by one until I was certain that it was big enough that it could kill a vampire.

With the reflex of a martial artist from the Chinese movie, Edward did a somersault and caught the piece of sword that was not burning. When he landed, he swung it at James.

Meanwhile, I tried to free the other girls around me. There were twenty of them. I unbound all of their hands. They untied their feet and took the mouth covering themselves. I decided to lead the girls out of there as I waited for help to arrive. Hopefully, they would call for help.

Meanwhile, someone caught me from behind and tossed me to the wall. I was hurt. I was or maybe bleeding badly. I saw Edward with the remaining clarity that I had fighting to the best of his ability to protect me. To protect us. He was doing what he could to save me.

I did what I can to survey the situation. The roofs were made of wood and it looked like it was collapsing. Edward was fighting James who was leaning his back on the wall. Suddenly, an idea came up. If I could sneak up behind James, maybe Edward would stand a chance against him. Even if I could not, I could use myself as a diversion.

I found some wooden stake at the wall. It was pretty ironic, knowing that the stake could not kill him. Only fire. I decided to grab one or all of them but lit them up one by one. As Edward cornered James, I put the burning stake at him by stabbing his feet with it.

"Ouch," he yelled. It was amazing hearing something from a monster that could not feel a pain. Fire was definitely his weakness.

"Why, you," James said, turning to me. It seemed that I got his attention now. "You know what you're doing to me? You thought you're stronger than me?"

As James did his "don't mess with me" speech, I discreetly lit up another stake. He got so close to me that I realized he would hurt me by grabbing my hands. Stake at a ready, I waited for his approach. When he was about to grab me, I drove the burning stake into his heart.

"You little bitch," he screamed. "You think that just a few of these would kill me now don't you?"

"No, but a lot of fire would," I said.

I lit up another stake and drove it to his mouth. Edward used his burning wood to slash James at the back. He seemed to move his attention away from me as he turned it to Edward.

I looked around and surveyed the room. Edward had started a fire at the middle of the room. If I could help him get James to the fire, our problems would be over.

So, Edward and I took turns in leading James up to the fire. I lit up the stake at hand, stabbing him with it. Edward used the burning sword to get James' attention away from me as I move closer to the fire. Finally, James was close to the fire that we could possibly handle.

I gave James a final push. He just shook his head and said, "You think you had me now, don't you?"

"Maybe," I said. I looked at Edward and nodded. "You know, my boyfriend is just waiting on you to be gone."

"How would you do that?" he asked.

"By this," I said as I shoved the stake through his stomach as far as I could. While he was in pain, I pushed him to the fire.

"Aaaahhhh!!!" James screamed.

Edward and I both looked at James as he burned to the fire. Finally, our troubles were over. We were together again.

"Edward," I said.

"Yes, love?" he asked.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

And with that, I blacked out.

Chapter 28

"Edward," I called. I opened my eyes only to find myself in the most uncomfortable bed I could ever lie on.

I looked around the room and found a lot of things there. The windows had white blinds. The walls were also sickeningly white. The solitary door was also white. And of course, the ceiling was also white. I realized that I was at the hospital.

I looked around for my loved ones. There was my mother standing next to Esme. On the couch were Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper. However, Edward was not there.

I realized that I cannot move. My mother was approaching me with a smile on her face.

"Mom, where's Edward?" I asked.

"Who?"

"Edward. The gorgeous guy wearing a toga," I answered.

"Oh, that," Rose looked at me apologetically. "We put him to jail."

"You what?" I asked, screamed out loud. My heart rate monitor started beeping like crazy. "Why would you do that?"

"They thought he was the one who abducted you," she answered. "We tried to help but they would not listen to us."

"No, he didn't. He was trying to save me. James abducted me," I pointed out.

"Yeah, that's what he was saying too. But who would believe him? You two were alone on the room when we found you unconscious. Do you realize that we won't let him get away if he did anything to you?" she pointed out.

"No, he won't do anything to me. We had been going out for about half a year now," I told her.

"Shit," Alice said. "So, he's your secret lover?"

"Yes," I said, trying to get the oxygen out of my nose. My mother tried to stop me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I am going to go to the police station to get Edward," I answered. "Now, get out of the way and let me by."

"Oh no you won't," she said.

"I would if I don't find him here right now," I answered.

With all the commotion in the room, the two men that I considered my father decided to check in on us.

"What's going on?" Carlisle asked.

"She's looking for this Edward guy," Esme answered.

"Edward who?" Dad asked.

"That's me," Edward said as he came into the room.

Edward came into the room with a handcuff. Apparently, he would rather have his hands cuffed than be away from me with free hands at jail.

"Hey, love," he said as he approached.

Edward gave me a kiss on the lips. "I see that you're already conscious again," he said.

"What happened after we drove James away?" I asked.

"Your best friends came. Emmett and Jasper ganged up on me and Alice and Rosalie called the hospital for you," he answered.

"Sorry," Alice said.

"It's okay," Edward answered. "At least I know that they would be taking care of you whenever I'm not around."

"Dad, could you free my boyfriend now?" I asked.

"We'll bring him to the police station for official release. Other than that, he would be a free man," he said.

"Thank you," I said.

It turned out that aside from my slashed ribs, I only had a couple of cracked ribs and a concussion. I was free to go the next day.

Chapter 29

Edward showed up at my house half an hour early. He let himself in, seeing that my father was still trying to make amends for him being a suspect for my disappearance.

"Hey," I greeted and gave him a kiss on his lips.

"Good morning," he kissed me back.

"Sit down. Would you like some breakfast?" I offered.

"No, thanks. We do get fed at the house," he said cringing at the thought. "I swear if I ate another more of Esme's cooking, I'm gonna get sick."

"Come on. It's not that bad. She cooks delicious," I said.

"It's not the food I'm worried about," Edward said. "She made me gain weight. Last night, I could barely get my pants on."

"Then, we'll just have to burn the calories off," I said.

"You mean do those exercise videos you're always doing?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered. "At least it helped me keep my shape. Would you like to join me?"

"Anything for you love," he said putting a brave smile on his face.

After eating some breakfast, I washed the dishes and we headed off to school. We were the first to arrive in the parking lot.

"Hey!" Alice waved, coming and parking next to us.

"Alice!" I waved. I turned to Edward and said, "How come you siblings don't use the same car?"

"One word: Alice. She doesn't really like to sit with her brothers in the car," Edward answered.

It had been a month since Edward had moved into the Cullen household. After all, it was hard to imagine a teenager living on his own because both his parents had been gone a long time ago. Carlisle officially adopted him into the family.

"Come," I said grabbing his hand before dragging him to his sister's car.

"Wait up," I shouted.

Alice put her parking brake. Then she opened the door and let us in.

"Hello, my dear brother," Alice greeted Edward and then kissed him on the cheek. "Hello, Bella. So, what's on the agenda after school?"

"Since Edward is complaining for gaining weight since moving into your house," I paused for dramatic effect, "I decided that I would make him workout with me by following the exercise video."

Alice looked at both of us. Once she noticed the brave look on his face, she understood.

"You would really do anything for this girl, won't you?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. "I had done that a thousand things in the past and I would continue to do that a thousand years into the future."

I could not believe what he said. He had done everything for me in the past, including coming into this unknown world on his own, turning his body into a fog, just to be with me. Working out with me using the exercise video was a paradise compare to that.

"It was nice to see a bossy Bella for a change," Alice chirped. "You really are the best thing that happened to her."

Edward smiled. He leaned closer to me and whispered, "No, you are the best thing that happened to me."

Edward kissed me on my lips. I felt my heart pounding and finally stopping. Then, it automatically restarted itself. I waited for my brain to catch up.

Edward was holding my hand as he led me out of Alice's car. The school was starting to fill up. He looked at me like I was the only one in the room even though everyone was staring at us. More specifically, staring at the gorgeous guy standing next to me, who was holding my hand.

"How do you feel right now?" he asked.

"Good," I said as I swayed with our hands. "Considering that I had been dating you when you could become invisible without your choice."

"So, what do you wanted to do? Did you figure it out?" he asked.

"For now, I would be a literary critic," I said. "In college, however, I planned on majoring in English and publishing a book."

Edward smiled. Always reassuring me. He may not understand anything going on, but I trust him that he would always be there to support me in everything I do. He went through hell just to be with me.

As if confirming my thought, Edward held out my hand in front of him and kissed it. "I know for a fact that you would be a successful literary critic," he said.

I smiled as I hurried into the room with him.

School passed by in a blur. It seemed that Edward tend to speed up the time. It felt like I had only been at school for seconds and not hours. Pretty soon, it was time to go home.

I held out my hand to him as we headed toward his car—a silver Volvo. I got into the passenger's side and put on my seatbelt on. Edward sat on the driver's side and did the same thing.

"Edward," I started. "Why do you love me?"

"I love your heart," he said. "It is one of the purest I have ever seen. It seemed like nothing could taint it."

"So, what about my look? Surely, there are a lot of women who looked better than me," I stated.

Edward stopped whatever he was doing, stared into my eyes and kissed my lips. "Silly Bella. You are beautiful," he said. And with that, we drove off to the sunset.  
Chapter 30:

I was staring in front of a mirror while Alice put stuff on my face. I needed to look presentable for it was my time to shine and show the real me.

A few moments later, I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," I called.

Instantly, Rose was standing there, in her maroon gown. She was showing her curvy figure. I was sure that all the males in the room would be looking at her later tonight.

"Are you ready?" Rose asked.

"Ready as can be," I said. "Well, at least until Alice finished what she was doing."

"Stop it, Bella," Alice snapped. "You need to look good."

I looked into the mirror and sighed. Leave it to them to make me beautiful at one of the most special evenings in my life.

Tonight was the awarding ceremony of those who won the contest. I was dressed to the nines and so were my parents, the Cullens, Jasper and Rosalie, and my professor.

Once Alice was done with the preparation, I slid in and opened the door. I was amazed at the sight before me. Edward was pacing back and forth in his gorgeous suit which made him looked like a supermodel. He was wearing a green tie to match the color of my dress. When he saw me, he stopped whatever he was doing and continued to stare.

"Bella," he said dreamily, "you look amazing."

"Well, look at you," I said doing what I could to joke around, "you look stunning yourself."

I was about to kiss Edward when the pixie stopped me.

"You better not ruin your hair," the pixie said.

Edward gave out a chuckle and placed a small kiss on my lips.

"Better play along with Alice," he said.

I nodded in agreement. I had been with her for so long that I would know how to handle her.

Edward and I headed to the elevator. Once the door opened, he let me go first and then closed it and pressed the lobby.

"At least we know you won something," he said. "They only invite those who are to receive their awards and their families."

I smiled at the positive outlook in his life. I was truly blessed to have this gorgeous guy sitting next to me. I know that I would be taken care of until the day I die.

He seated us near Carlisle and Esme. Across from them were my parents. Both couples seemed to be having a great time.

The rest of my best friends came down. Soon, dinner was served and stomachs were filled. It was time to announce the winner.

"And the winners for this contest are: third place—Jane Curseworthy. Second place—Alec Mysterious. Last but not the least, the winner of the 2009 Critic's choice award is: Bella Swan," announced the speaker.

Upon hearing my name, my heart jumped up and down for joy. I did something so dear to myself. I gave it my all and it rewarded me with this memorable feeling.

Epilogue:

Edward decided to take me to my prom without my consent. He got the help of Alice and the gang. I did not know what was going on until we were already at the building we call our school.

"You're taking me to a prom," I said.

"Yes," he said. "I know you're gonna react like that."

"Why?" I asked with tears on my eyes. I never understood the idea of parties at all.

"Because," Edward paused. "I love you, I miss you, I care about you and I don't want you to miss anything special in your life."

We danced at the lit up sky and kissed.


End file.
